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Back from the brink: ageing, exercise and health in a small gym
- Authors:
- TULLE Emmanuelle, DORRER Nika
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 32(7), October 2012, pp.1106-1127.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This study explored older adults' experiences of becoming regular exercisers in a gym, triggered by health problems, and their interactions with their younger gym instructors. Interviews were held with 15 men and women aged 55 to 83 years in Scotland. While participants reported significant benefits (greater health capital, expanded social networks and a return to active life after illness), they nevertheless were engaged in a complex and ambiguous negotiation of attitudes to bodily ageing and meanings of fitness and competence. In contrast, the instructors subscribed to a model of physical activity oriented towards physical capital as greater fitness. The paper suggests that these positions manifest competing understandings about what constitutes appropriate and desirable physical capital in later life. The authors concluded that there is a need to develop ways of breaking down barriers in communication to overcome divergent understandings of what constitutes legitimate physical capital people age.
International migration and health inequalities in later life
- Authors:
- LANARI Donatella, BUSSINI Odoardo
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 32(6), August 2012, pp.935-962.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This paper examined the differences in self-perceived health and depression between immigrants and native-born populations aged 50 years and older living in Western and Northern European countries. It examined the effect of country of origin, length of time in the host country and citizenship on the health of adults, using data from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Findings revealed that some immigrant groups were more likely to perceive worse self-rated health and to suffer from depression than native-born groups, even when demographic and socio-economic variables are taken into account. In particular, people born in Eastern Europe living in Germany, France and Sweden had the highest chances of poor health with respect to natives. Also, the perception of poor health rose as the length of stay increased. Results indicate that greater efforts by policy makers are needed in order to improve the health of specific middle-aged and older groups of immigrants.
An evaluation of Wigan Council’s Partnership for Older People Project
- Authors:
- BEECH Roger, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Research Policy and Planning, 29(2), 2012, pp.69-81.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
Wigan Council participated in the Department of Health for England’s Partnership for Older People Project (POPP) and piloted eleven community based schemes for promoting older people’s health and well-being and reducing their need for higher intensity forms of care. This paper describes evaluation activity that guided decisions about the development and ongoing sustainability of these schemes. A mixed method, observational study design generated information about the number and characteristics of POPP service users and the ‘value’ and ‘effectiveness’ of POPP schemes from the perspectives of older people and other POPP stakeholders. From May 2006 through January 2008 there were 7,572 referrals to POPP schemes. A survey covering 1,362 service users and interviews with whole system stakeholders revealed high levels of support for POPP schemes in terms of their relevance, value and ability to promote partnership working between agencies. Results also offered ‘plausible’ evidence that some schemes were helping to reduce older people’s use of more intensive and higher cost services. Implications: evaluation results supported a decision that all POPP schemes should be sustained when pilot funding from the Department of Health ended. The study also demonstrated the importance of local evaluation activity when developing new services. (Edited publisher abstract)
Health, wellbeing, and the older people housing agenda: briefing paper
- Author:
- OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY. Institute of Public Care
- Publisher:
- Housing Learning and Improvement Network
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 15p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This paper is 1 of 3 which explore the practicalities of delivering housing for older people and maximising the benefits to their health and wellbeing. Poor housing can be a contributory factor to acerbating a number of health conditions, just as good housing may help to limit the effects or incidence of other conditions. Housing factors that influence older people’s health include: cold weather; indoor air quality; house type and design; and neighbourhood effects. The paper is aimed primarily at Health and Wellbeing Board members and seeks to support them in their understanding of: the impact of poor housing on the health and wellbeing outcomes of older people; and the strategic approaches they can take to influence the provision of housing and housing related services to improve the health and wellbeing of their older population. Health and Wellbeing Boards need to establish a shared understanding of health and wellbeing outcomes for their local populations, including the variations in outcome for different groups such as older people. The challenge is to understand how housing contributes to the delivery of these outcomes, and what measures indicate that current housing services are not delivering locally. Development of a strategic approach towards health and wellbeing in older people will require better partnership between housing, health and social care.
Resilience to health related adversity in older people
- Authors:
- GALLACHER John, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 13(3), 2012, pp.197-204.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Resilience (the ability to adapt positively to adversity), has been shown to be important in influencing health-related behaviours in older adults and to be linked to psychological well-being. This paper describes the Age-Well, Feel-Good study undertaken in South Wales, which explored the impact of cognitive and affective factors on perceived health. The study involved online assessment of a sample of 667 men and women aged 50 years or more, covering demographics, self-report health status and financial managing, vascular disease (heart disease, stroke or diabetes), sources of income, psychological status and cognitive function. The article describes the study methodology, analysis and results. It reports that, after adjustment for vascular disease, self-esteem was associated with higher perceived health while depression was associated with lower perceived health, and that self-efficacy and anxiety were not associated with perceived health. It discusses the findings and suggests that, in relation to health adversities, interventions to improve self-esteem and ameliorate depression are likely to increase resilience.
A minimum income for healthy living (MIHL) – older New Zealanders
- Authors:
- O'SULLIVAN Jessica, ASHTON Toni
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 32(5), July 2012, pp.747-768.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This study, drawing a methodology developed by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the ‘Minimum Income for Healthy Living (MIHL): Older New Zealanders’ investigated the retirement income needs of older New Zealanders living independently in the community. The MIHL was estimated for people living alone, couples, renters and debt-free home owners. Findings revealed that the MIHL estimates were noticeably higher than the universal state pension paid to older New Zealanders. People living alone and those renting their homes were shown to be worse off than couples and debt-free home owners, respectively. The results highlight that many older New Zealanders are living on an income which may not be enough to support a healthy life. This has important implications for the demand for health, residential and social services and questions the level of income needed for healthy retirement.
Factors associated with perceived health in older adult Irish population
- Authors:
- BURKE Kate E., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 16(3), April 2012, pp.288-295.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Perceived health status or self-reported health is a reliable indicator of overall health status and is a widely used measure in health and aging surveys. Self-reported health declines with age and is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, poor mental health and functional outcomes and health care utilisation. The aim of this study was to investigate how older people perceive their health and the physical, psychological and social factors that influence and potentially predict such perceptions. The participants were 492 community-dwelling older people with a mean age of 72.5 years living in Dublin. The participants underwent a comprehensive assessment using standardised measures of medical morbidity, personality, functional status, depression, anxiety, perceived stress, cognition, loneliness and social support. Analysis of the findings revealed that self-rated health is best predicted by instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), Charlson Co-morbidity Index (CCI), extraversion and perceived stress. The effects of cognition and social support from friends on self-rated health were found to be mediated by elements of these identified factors. The article concludes that self-rated health is not simply the absence of physical illness but is also strongly influenced by the degree of functional impairment, personality factors and the level of stress experienced by the older person.
Association between low functional health literacy and mortality in older adults: longitudinal cohort study
- Authors:
- BOSTOCK Sophie, STEPTOE Andrew
- Journal article citation:
- British Medical Journal, 14.4.12, 2012, p.15.
- Publisher:
- British Medical Association
Using participants from the second wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, this study investigates the association between the ability to read and understand basic health related information and mortality in older adults. Participants were 7857 adults aged 52 or more who participated in the second wave (2004-5) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and survived more than 12 months after interview. Participants completed a brief four item test of functional health literacy, which assessed understanding of written instructions for taking an aspirin tablet. Health literacy was categorised as high (maximum score, 67.2%), medium (one error, 20.3%), or low (more than one error, 12.5%).During follow-up (mean 5.3 years) 621 deaths occurred: 321 (6.1%) in the high health literacy category, 143 (9.0%) in the medium category, and 157 (16.0%) in the low category. Results found a third of older adults in England were found to have difficulties reading and understanding basic health related written information. Poorer understanding was associated with higher mortality.
Visualizing risk: health, gender and the ageing body
- Author:
- MARTIN Wendy
- Journal article citation:
- Critical Social Policy, 32(1), February 2012, pp.51-68.
- Publisher:
- Sage
The promotion of active ageing in later life has been a key development in recent health and social care policy. Noting alternative images of ageing (a positive image conveying the possibilities and opportunities of later life and a negative image associated with perceptions of increased risks to health), this article reports on a study exploring visual images associated with health, risk and well-being targeted at people aged 50 years and older. Images of health, well-being and ageing from health promotion materials were explored and analysed, and data was collected through in-depth interviews and photo-elicitation (based on 12 selected visual images) with 50 older people in the south-east of England. This article focuses on the analysis of visual images, which identified 2 key themes (active ageing, and health, risk and dependency). It describes and discusses the main characteristics and meanings of images in the 2 groups, such as the contexts and settings in which men and women were depicted, and includes brief examples of participants' perceptions and experiences of the images. The author notes that visual images not only reflect and reproduce social differences but can influence conduct and perceptions of risk in everyday life.
The circumstances of older people in England with self-reported visual impairment: a secondary analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)
- Authors:
- ZIMDARS Anna, NAZROO James, GJONCA Edlira
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Visual Impairment, 30(1), 2012, pp.22-30.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a survey of 11,392 people aged 50 or older which includes self-reported vision information, this research aimed to investigate potential links between visual impairment and various social and well-being outcomes among older people. The article describes the methodology, data and analysis, and presents the findings. The results showed that self-reported visual impairment was associated with multiple disadvantages, including physical health, cognitive functions, economic well-being, social engagement, and emotional well-being and life satisfaction. The authors suggest that further research is needed to establish causal links between visual impairment and social and well-being outcomes, and that secondary data analysis of ELSA offers a useful and cost-effective research approach.