Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 10 of 16
Socio-economic position and quality of life among older people in 10 European countries: results of the SHARE study
- Authors:
- VON DEM KNESEBECK Olaf, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 27(2), March 2007, pp.269-284.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This study examines associations between quality of life and multiple indicators of socio-economic position among people aged 50 or more years in 10 European countries, and analyses whether the relative importance of the socio-economic measures vary by age. The countries studied were Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The data are from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in 2004. 15,080 cases were analysed. Quality of life was measured by a short version of the CASP-19 questionnaire, which represents quality of life as comprising four conceptual domains of individual needs that are particularly relevant in later life: control, autonomy, self-realisation and pleasure. The short version has 12 items (three for each domain). Five indicators of socio-economic position were used: income, education, home ownership, net worth, and car ownership. A multiple logistic regression showed that quality of life was associated with socio-economic position, but that the associations varied by country. Relatively small socio-economic differences in quality of life were observed for Switzerland, but comparatively large differences in Germany. Education, income, net worth, and car ownership consistently related to quality of life, but the association of home ownership was less consistent. There was no indication that the socio-economic differences in quality of life diminished after retirement (i.e. from 65+ years). Conventional measures of socio-economic position (education and income), as well as alternative indicators (car ownership and household net worth), usefully identified the differential risks of poor quality of life among older people before and after the conventional retirement age.
Socio-economic position and subjective health and well-being among older people in Europe: a systematic narrative review
- Authors:
- READ Sanna, GRUNDY Emily, FOVERSKOV Else
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 20(5), 2016, pp.529-542.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: Previous studies of older European populations have established that disability and morbidity vary with indicators of socio-economic position (SEP). The authors undertook a systematic narrative review of the literature to ascertain to what extent there is evidence of similar inequalities in the subjective health and well-being of older people in Europe. Method: Relevant original research articles were searched for using Medline, Global Health, Embase, Social Policy and Practice, Cinahl, Web of Science and International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS). The authors included studies of SEP and indicators of subjective health and well-being (self-rated health; life satisfaction; quality of life) conducted since 1991 using population-based samples of older people in Europe and published 1995–2013. Results: A total of 71 studies were identified. Poorer SEP was associated with poorer subjective health and well-being. Associations varied somewhat depending on the SEP measure and subjective health and well-being outcome used. Associations were weaker when social support and health-related behaviours were adjusted for suggesting that these factors mediate the relationship between SEP and subjective health and well-being. Associations tended to be weaker in the oldest age groups. The patterns of associations by gender were not consistent and tended to diminish after adjusting for indicators of health and life circumstances. Conclusion: The results of this systematic narrative review of the literature demonstrate the importance of social influences on later life subjective health and well-being and indicate areas which need further investigation, such as more studies from Eastern Europe, more longitudinal studies and more research on the role of mediating factors. (Edited publisher abstract)
The supply of informal care in Europe
- Authors:
- PICKARD Linda, et al
- Publisher:
- European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 37p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Brussels
Informal care is very important in the supply of care to older people in Europe, with the majority of older people receiving the bulk of their support in daily living activities from informal or unpaid caregivers. This report analyses the supply of informal care provided by family and friends in Europe, and forms part of the Assessing Needs of Care in European Nations (ANCIEN) research project. Specifically, this research investigates how far differences in informal care provision between European countries are determined by differences in their social composition and how far they are determined by differences in their long-term care systems. Data on the provision of informal care was taken from the 2007 Eurobarometer survey. The research involved multivariate analysis of the provision of informal help with personal care tasks, taking into account socio-demographic factors likely to affect the provision of informal care, including gender, age, marital status and education, and also taking into account differences in long-term systems. The key conclusion from the findings is that differences in informal care provision in European countries are affected not only by differences in socio-demographic factors, but also by differences in long-term care systems between countries.
Social inequalities in facing old-age dependency: a bi-generational perspective
- Author:
- SARACENO Chiara
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of European Social Policy, 20(1), February 2010, pp.32-44.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Population ageing implies the ageing of family and kinship networks; sometimes defined in terms of the “beanpole family” where there are few (or fewer) members in each generation. As the absolute number of the frail elderly increases, a top-heavy intergenerational chain can be expected to put stress on the middle generation as those either side compete for their support. This raises issues around financial and time resources for the middle and younger generations when frailty emerges in the older generation. The author begins by presenting a conceptual framework for the development of a bi-generational analysis of the social care package for dependent elderly and of its impact on social inequalities. She goes on to present an overview of elderly care policies in all EU countries on the basis of that framework and discusses existing knowledge about social class and cross country differences in patterns of intergenerational support. The review considers whether social inequality affects resources available to the dependent elderly and how a frail elderly person’s demands impact differently on children’s resources and life chances across gender and social classes, as well as what the impact of specific patterns of public care provision (other than healthcare) is on these inequalities.
Living arrangements, health and well-being: a European perspective
- Authors:
- YOUNG Harriet, GRUNDY Emily
- Publisher:
- Economic and Social Research Council
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 25p.
- Place of publication:
- Swindon
This project focuses on the possible consequences of different types of living arrangements for the health and well-being of older people, and will be based on analysis of existing data sources. Demographic changes over the last century have led to older age structures throughout Europe, accompanied by major social, economic and family-related changes. There has been a decline in the proportion of older people living with children, and an increase in those living alone. However, substantial differences between countries remain. Research to date indicates that the consequences of different living arrangements for the health and well-being of older people is not clear-cut, and may be influenced by factors including social ties outside the household, socio-economic factors and cultural norms.
Older people 'on the edge' in the countrysides of Europe
- Author:
- GIARCHI George Giacinto
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 40(6), December 2006, pp.705-721.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Relatively few comparative studies have focused specifically upon the socio-economic conditions affecting the welfare of older rural Europeans. Such publications as exist are usually confined to single studies. In presenting a European overview of their 'life-world' this paper focuses upon the general conditions of older rural Europeans, living in different types of countryside within a centre–periphery framework. These conditions are largely dependent upon the interconnectivity (nexus) between regional urban centres and the older people's types of settlement. The extent of the global socio-economic flows between urban centres and countrysides is critical, especially for those living in less accessible and remote European areas. Older people's positive and negative outcomes are seen to occur within four possible urban–rural parameters. The first consists of two-way socio-economic urban–rural flows that are more likely to be of benefit to significant numbers of older persons, especially in urban fringe and accessible countrysides. The second parameter arises when there is a long-standing impasse, where the lack of communication between the rural locality and urban centre hampers socio-economic urban–rural flows, isolating older people, particularly in less accessible and remote countrysides. The third occurs when regional and local urban centres block or cut back socio-economic flows to the countryside. The fourth takes place when the rural communities resist socio-economic urban flows that they regard as a threat to their rural idyll. Exemplars within each of the four urban–rural alternatives help to show the applicability and workability of this four-way exploratory approach.
A comparative appraisal of the relationship of education, income and housing tenure with less than good health among the elderly in Europe
- Authors:
- DALSTRA J. A. A., KUNST A. E., MACKENBACH J. P.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Science and Medicine, 62(8), April 2006, pp.2046-2060.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
The objective of this study was to determine the strength of various socio-economic indicators for predicting less than good health among elderly people aged 60–79 years. Data were obtained from national health surveys from 10 European countries. Education, income and housing tenure were examined in relation to less than good health using standardised prevalence rates and (multiple) logistic regression analyses. The results illustrated that there are substantial health differences among the elderly according to education and income in each country. Both education and income (with men) showed a strong independent relationship with health status. Health differences according to housing tenure were generally somewhat smaller. However, in Great Britain and the Netherlands housing tenure demonstrated large health differences, even after adjustment for education and income. It is recommended that more refined socio-economic measures are developed and that in the meantime both education and income are used when studying socio-economic health differences among the elderly. In some countries, like Great Britain and the Netherlands, however, housing tenure has an additional value.
Older labour migrants' well being in Europe: the case of Switzerland
- Authors:
- BOLZMAN Claudio, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 24(3), May 2004, pp.411-429.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Examines several aspects of the social situation of the older immigrant population in Switzerland. Reviews their demographic history and characteristics and provides profiles of their health and well being, their material standard of life and access to social security and related benefits. It reports selected findings from an original survey of older Italian and Spanish citizens who are resident in the country, which show relatively high rates of disadvantage and poverty. The determination of a large proportion of the immigrant population to remain in Switzerland after they have ceased work demonstrates that the minorities who entered the country as labour migrants will become a permanent element of the Swiss population and its society. Neither the politicians nor the general public in Switzerland have yet accepted the reality of this new diversity. Concludes by discussing the social policy and attitudinal options that face the governments and the population of Switzerland and many other European countries.
Northern European retired residents in nine southern European areas: characteristics, motivations and adjustment
- Authors:
- CASADO-DIAZ Maria, KAISER Claudia, WARNES Anthony M.
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 24(3), May 2004, pp.353-384.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
During the last two decades, northern European retirement residence in the southern European sunbelt has grown strongly and its forms have rapidly changed, but standard demographic and social statistical sources provide no information about the flows, the migrants or their increasingly mobile and complex residential patterns. Considerable primary research has however recently been undertaken into the causes, conditions, experiences and consequences of international retirement migration (IRM) by investigators from Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Many collaborated when designing their studies and instruments, and all have subsequently worked together in a European Science Foundation Scientific Network. This paper compares the findings of six systematic social surveys in (to be more precise than the title) eight regions of southern Europe and the Canary Islands: all that have tackled similar research questions with similar methods and instruments. It presents interpretations of several comparative tables compiled from their original data, with a focus on the socio-economic backgrounds, motivations and behaviour of the various migrant groups and their relationship with the host and home countries. The paper presents new findings about the typical and variant forms of IRM, and additional understanding of the heterogeneity of the retirees of different nations and in the several regions.
Socioeconomic inequalities in home-care use across regional long-term care systems in Europe
- Authors:
- FLORIDI Ginevra, CARRINO Ludovico, GLASER Karen
- Journal article citation:
- Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, early cite 30 September 2020,
- Publisher:
- The Gerontological Society of America
Objectives: This study examine whether socioeconomic inequalities in home-care use among disabled older adults are related to the contextual characteristics of long-term care (LTC) systems. Specifically, this study investigates how wealth and income gradients in the use of informal, formal, and mixed home-care vary according to the degree to which LTC systems offer alternatives to families as the main providers of care (“de-familization”). Method: This study used survey data from SHARE on disabled older adults from 136 administrative regions in 12 European countries and link them to a regional indicator of de-familization in LTC, measured by the number of available LTC beds in care homes. This study used multinomial multilevel models, with and without country fixed-effects, to study home-care use as a function of individual-level and regional-level LTC characteristics. The study interacts financial wealth and income with the number of LTC beds to assess whether socioeconomic gradients in home-care use differ across regions according to the degree of de-familization in LTC Results: This study found robust evidence that socioeconomic status inequalities in the use of mixed-care are lower in more de-familized LTC systems. Poorer people are more likely than the wealthier to combine informal and formal home-care use in regions with more LTC beds. SES inequalities in the exclusive use of informal or formal care do not differ by the level of de-familization. Discussion: The results suggest that de-familization in LTC favours the combination of formal and informal home-care among the more socioeconomically disadvantaged, potentially mitigating health inequalities in later life. (Edited publisher abstract)