Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 6 of 6
Loneliness, social isolation and living alone in later life
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
A critical element in the quality of life of older people is social participation and engagement. This project, using a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches, investigated three key dimensions of social participation: loneliness, isolation and living alone in later life. The authors demonstrate that, overall, only a minority of older people are lonely (7 per cent) or isolated (11-17 per cent) and that this has shown little change in the past 50 years. We also show that while these concepts are interrelated they are not the same. Our data demonstrate the dynamic nature of loneliness and isolation across the lifecourse and the varying pathways into loneliness in later life. The report identifies two distinct groups: those for whom loneliness is a continuation of previous experiences and those for whom it is a 'novel' experience. In developing intervention to respond to loneliness and isolation we need to respond to the varying types and pathways into loneliness and isolation in later life.
Older people's experience of paid employment: participation and quality of life
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
Recent and continuing demographic changes indicate an expected shortage of younger workers in the future and, consequently, an increasing need for older people to remain in employment beyond current pension ages. This shift demands consideration of issues relating to older people in the workplace and the likely impact of continued employment on quality of life. This research project was broadly concerned with labour force participation in the age range 50-75. It focused specifically on the relationship between participation in paid work and subsequent psychological well-being and life satisfaction and the possible determinants of labour force participation at older ages.
Older people in deprived neighbourhoods: social exclusion and quality of life in old age
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
This research examined the circumstances of older people living in socially deprived areas of three English cities. In seeking to provide new insights into the nature of inequalities within older age, the study addressed the conditions of social exclusion in deprived urban neighbourhoods and the processes that contribute to social exclusion in later life. The focus on older people in deprived neighbourhoods is closely tied to contemporary public policy concerns. In recent years, such neighbourhoods have been subject to considerable social policy intervention, linked to attempts to reduce the geographical divide between Britain's most deprived areas and the 'mainstream of society'. In this respect, the research sought to examine the degree to which residence in an area of concentrated poverty might compound the impact on older people of other forms of social exclusion, and lead to a diminished quality of life. The research was undertaken in the three most deprived electoral wards in Liverpool, Manchester and the London Borough of Newham. Data collection consisted of a survey of 600 people aged 60 and over in the three cities, and semi-structured interviews with 130 people in the same age group.
Family work and quality of life: changing economic and social roles
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2002
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
Recent socio-economic and demographic changes, such as increasing female labour force participation, rises in the age at which children leave home and improvements in longevity are all likely to have increased the number of people 'caught in the middle',that is, juggling paid work and caring responsibilities, whilst still supporting their own children. This research explored changes in economic and social roles across four birth cohorts passing through mid-life (45-59/64 years). It investigated the relationship between multiple role responsibilities and a range of indicators of quality life including health, material resources and engagement in social activities. The project was based upon secondary analysis of four different surveys:the 2000 British Household Panel Study (BHPS), the 1994-95 Family and Working Lives Survey (FWLS), the 1985, 1990, 1995 General Household Survey (GHS) and the longitudinal 1988/89 and 1994 Retirement Survey (RS).
Quality of life of healthy older people: residential setting and social comparison processes
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
This study focused on perceptions of quality of life (QoL) among people aged 65 or over, in good health, living in one London Borough. It reveals the impact that both type of residence and the individual's social comparison strategy leave on QoL. Those taking part in the research were classified by their type of residence and standard measures of QoL and health status were used.
Environment and identity in later life: a cross-setting study
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
For most older people, the place where they live is the centre of their everyday life. Homes and neighbourhoods are invested with personal and social meaning, and they have particular characteristics that can affect continuing independence and well-being. Older people live in all kinds of places, including 'ordinary' and 'special' housing providing different levels of accommodation and care; domestic and nondomestic. They live in cities, towns and the countryside; alone and with other people. In extreme old age, a greater proportion of the population live in non-domestic age-segregated settings. This research aimed to advance our understanding of the connections between living environments and the maintenance of identity and well-being in later life; and to develop personally relevant tools for evaluating different kinds of living places. These living places were taken to include the dwelling itself, its setting, and the spaces that connect and separate inside and outside; private and public. The study included a wide range of dwellings and three different locations were chosen to take in metropolitan; urban/sub-urban; and small town/village/semi-rural places. These were the north London Borough of Haringey; the town of Bedford, and villages and small towns within the southern part of Northamptonshire.