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Economic status of the elderly in Hong Kong: homogeneous or heterogeneous?
- Authors:
- CHOU Kee-Lee, CHOW Nelson W. S., CHI Iris
- Journal article citation:
- International Social Work, 49(2), March 2006, pp.218-232.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This article examines the economic status of elderly people in Hong Kong based on data collected by the government. The Hong Kong elderly population is not a homogeneous group, as their economic status is significantly related to their gender, age, marital status, education and employment status.
‘I just felt as though I had to drop something’: the implications of care for female working elder carers’ working lives
- Authors:
- BURR Vivien, COLLEY Helen
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 39(5), 2019, pp.877-89.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This paper explores the challenges that female elder carers in the United Kingdom face in combining paid work with elder care, and the implications of this care for their current and future working lives. In-depth interviews with 11 working women from a large organisation were conducted, and five of the women were re-interviewed after a period of one year to examine any changes in their situation. The interviews revealed the precarious nature of their daily schedules, which required constant effort to maintain, the intrusion of elder care into their working lives, and the impact it had upon their career development and future aspirations. The findings provide insight into the reasons why carers, especially women, are more likely to reduce their working hours, do not take advantage of training opportunities and retire early. The findings are discussed in relation to the expectation of an extended working age and gender equality. (Publisher abstract)
Measuring active and healthy ageing in Europe
- Authors:
- ZAIDI Asghar, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of European Social Policy, 27(2), 2017, pp.138-157.
- Publisher:
- Sage
The active and healthy ageing measure reported here is calculated for the 28 European Union countries, with a specific focus on the current generation of older people and by using the latest data from multiple surveys. It covers diverse aspects of active and healthy ageing, by measuring older people’s contribution in relation to: employment, their unpaid familial, social and cultural contributions and their independent, healthy and secure living. An important contribution of this measure, referred to as the Active Ageing Index (‘AAI’), is that it also captures how countries differ with respect to capacity and enabling environments for active and healthy ageing. The AAI offers a breakdown by four domains of active and healthy ageing, and also by gender. Key findings are that Sweden comes at the top of the country ranking, followed closely by Denmark, the United Kingdom, Finland, the Netherlands and Ireland. The four southern European countries (Italy, Portugal, Spain and Malta) are middle-ranked countries. Greece and many of the Central European countries are at the bottom, highlighting much greater untapped potentials of active and healthy ageing among older people in these countries and a need for greater policy efforts. Women fare worse than men in most countries, identifying a need for an emphasis on reducing gender disparity in experiences of active and healthy ageing. The AAI tool developed has the potential to identify the social policy mechanisms behind the differential achievements of active and healthy ageing. (Edited publisher abstract)
Provider-led pathways to work: net impacts on employment and benefits: working paper
- Authors:
- KNIGHT Genevieve, et al
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department for Work and Pensions
- Publication year:
- 2013
- Pagination:
- 99p.
- Place of publication:
- London
The main objective of this impact study was to assess whether Provider Led Pathways helped more incapacity benefits customers move into work or leave benefit than would have done otherwise. The impact analysis was conducted using administrative data (Incapacity Benefits claims and HMRC employment records) and data collected from two large scale telephone surveys with 2007 and 2008 incapacity benefit claimants living in Provider Led Pathways areas and in matched comparison areas which did not have the Provider Led Pathways to provide the counterfactual of not participating in this programme. On average, interviews were conducted 14 months after the claim for benefits. Findings revealed that in Provider Led Pathways lowered the proportion of benefits claimants by two percentage points; there was no conclusive evidence of a Provider Led Pathways impact on employment, but there was some evidence that Provider Led Pathways raised employment, and it was estimated to raise HMRC employment by one percentage point; Provider Led Pathways had a statistically significant impact for men, but not for women, and for those who were less than 50 years old, but not for those aged 50 years and over; and for those with mental health conditions and those with other health conditions, the Provider Led Pathways raised the proportion off benefit by two percentage points.
The equality impacts of the current recession
- Authors:
- HOGARTH Terence, et al
- Publisher:
- Equality and Human Rights Commission
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 217p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Manchester
The study was commissioned to examine the equality impacts of the current recession on the labour market with regard to gender, race and ethnicity, age, and disability. Some of these groups already have a disadvantaged position in the labour market; this study focuses on changes to the state of relative disadvantage as a result of the recession. The analysis is based on: a literature review; a descriptive analysis of Labour Force Survey (LFS) data; and estimates of future employment levels of the various groups. Chapter 2 provides an assessment of the current recession and its impact on the labour market given the experience learnt from previous recessions. Chapters 3 to 6 consider the likely impact of the recession by gender, age group, disability and ethnicity, respectively, based on a review of the literature. The projections of future employment are provided in chapters 7 and 8. Finally, chapter 9 provides a conclusion and summary of the study’s findings and highlights the implications for the equality agenda. The employment forecasts suggest that the fall in employment resulting from this recession may not be as bad as that which resulted from the 1980-81 and 1990-91 recessions. On balance, the recession is likely to slow progress towards meeting the objectives of the equality agenda rather than lead to a reversal of the gains made to date, the exception being young people who may be at particular risk. However, great uncertainties remain, especially so as unemployment continues to rise.
Couples' provision of informal care for parents and parents-in-law: far from sharing equally?
- Author:
- HENZ Ursula
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 29(3), April 2009, pp.369-395.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This study examines whether and how couples share the provision of informal care for their parents. Four waves of the British General Household Survey contain cross-sectional information about caring for parents and parents-in-law. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted on 2214 couples that provided parent care. The findings emphasise married men's contribution to informal caring for the parental generation and at the same time demonstrate the limits of their involvement. Spouses share many parts of their care-giving but this arrangement is less common with respect to personal and physical care. The more care is required the more likely are people to participate in care for their parents-in-law. More sons-in-law than daughters-in-law provide care but, once involved, daughters-in-law provide on average more hours of care than sons-in-law. Own full-time employment reduces both men's and women's caring for their parents-in-law, and men's caring drops further if their wife is not in the labour market. The findings suggest that daughters-in-law often take direct responsibility whereas sons-in-laws' care-giving depends more on their wives' involvement. Children-in-laws' informal care-giving might decrease in the future because of women's increasing involvement in the labour market and rising levels of non-marital cohabitation in mid-life.
The health consequences of multiple roles at older ages in the UK
- Authors:
- GLASER Karen, EVANDROU Maria, TOMASSINI Cecilia
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 13(5), September 2005, pp.470-477.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Increasing proportions of men and women are combining family (including care-giving) and work responsibilities in later life; however, the relationship between multiple role commitments and health at older ages remains unclear. Employing data from the longitudinal Retirement Survey (1988-1989 and 1994), the present authors applied logistic regression models to investigate the relationship between multiple role occupancy (1) cross-sectionally in 1988-1989 and health status in 1994; (2) retrospectively over the respondent's lifetime up to 1988-1989 and health outcomes in 1988-1989; and (3) retrospectively between 1988-1989 and 1994, and health status in 1994. The health outcomes considered were (1) general health status, (2) functional ability and (3) severity of disability category. Overall, simultaneous role occupancy (e.g. care-giving and employment) at older ages does not appear to be associated with poor health. The authors report a positive association between employment and health, as expected. There were mixed results concerning the association between care-giving and health. Where adverse health outcomes were found, the parental role, alone or in combination with other roles, was most frequently related to poor health. Thus, for a nationally representative sample of mid-life men and women, the combination of care-giving with other family and work roles appears to have few negative health consequences.
Activity and psychological well-being in older people
- Authors:
- WARR P., BUTCHER V., ROBERTSON I.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 8(2), March 2004, pp.172-183.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Affective well-being and life satisfaction between the ages of 50 and 74 were investigated as a function of the frequency with which individuals undertook six types of activity, after control for potential confounding variables. Overall activity level (across all types) was significantly positively associated with both outcome variables. Activities in the Family and Social and in the Church and Charity domains were found to be important in this age-range, but other types of activity were less consistently associated with affective well-being or life satisfaction. Differences were observed in the frequency of some activity types between men and women and between people in employment, unemployment and retirement. However, associations between activity and psychological well-being did not vary between men and women, and differences in correlations with well-being between non-employed and employed individuals were significant only for aggregate indicators.
Caregiving and employment: the impact of workplace characteristics on role strain
- Authors:
- FREDRIKSEN Karen I., SCHARLACH Andrew E.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 28(4), 1997, pp.3-22.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Examines job classification and other workplace characteristics as potential mediators of role strain among university employees with adult care responsibilities. After controlling for background caregiver characteristics and the intensity of care giving demands, it was found that job classification, hours worked, work demands, workplace support, and job flexibility contributed significantly to role strain. Caregivers in staff positions provided higher levels of caregiving assistance and experienced less flexibility, control, and support at the workplace than did academics and administrators. These findings have implications for the development of workplace policies and procedures that are responsive to the unique needs of diverse employee groups.
Working carers: international perspectives on working and caring for older people
- Editor:
- PHILLIPS Judith
- Publisher:
- Avebury
- Publication year:
- 1995
- Pagination:
- 169p.,tables,bibliogs.
- Place of publication:
- Aldershot
Presents different perspectives on working carers who care for older people. The publication aims to reflect on the different stages in the development of this issue by looking first at the British perspective; then Europe and finally looking at developments in North America.