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Retaining independence and autonomy in a rural area: older people's preferences for specialised housing
- Authors:
- BURHOLT Vanessa, WINDLE Gill
- Journal article citation:
- Research Policy and Planning, 25(1), 2007, pp.13-26.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
This paper aims to identify older people's preferences from a range of supported living environments. It compares the importance of privacy and physical space, physical care, domestic services, security, social activities, and control or autonomy in future accommodation. Random sampling procedures were used to draw a proportional sample of 423 people aged 70 years and over from each rural community in Gwynedd, North Wales a part of the HAPPI (Housing for an Ageing Population: Planning Implications) project. A questionnaire was administered through face-to-face interviews. The findings show that more participants rated privacy and physical space and control of life as important, compared with the other domains. Participants were most likely to indicate that sheltered housing would meet their needs in each of the domains. The paper concludes with the implications for planning of supported living environments.
The material resources and well-being of older people
- Authors:
- BURHOLT Vanessa, WINDLE Gill
- Publisher:
- York Publishing
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 54p.
- Place of publication:
- York
Older people with low levels of material resources were over-represented by women, those living alone, people who are widowed, divorced or separated, in poor health, with lower education and living in deprived neighbourhoods. Although older respondents (for example, those over 75 years) had fewer material resources than others they tended to be satisfied with their financial situation. This may represent adaptation to a financial situation that may not easily be changed, but did not indicate that they were receiving an income that adequately meets their financial needs. In other words, many older households may have been putting on a happy face in order to cope with the inescapable reality of everyday life. Material resources were partially determined by being employed but this was not important for financial well-being (satisfaction with resources). Material resources were partially determined by having an occupational pension but this was less important to financial well-being. A private source of income, including from a business, rent, interest and insurance payments, was a dimension of material resources and had a positive influence on financial satisfaction. Low levels of material resources had a negative impact on the life satisfaction of older people.
A concise alternative for researching health-related quality of life in older people
- Authors:
- WINDLE Gillian, EDWARDS Rhiannon, BURHOLT Vanessa
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing, 5(3), November 2004, pp.13-24.
- Publisher:
- Pier Professional
- Place of publication:
- Brighton
Examines a potentially shorter alternative to the sometimes lengthy and time-consuming health assessment tools used by researchers, the EQ-5D instrument. Data was obtained using trained interviewers from a randomly sampled cross-sectional survey of 423 community-dwelling older people aged 70-99. Information was obtained relating to activities of daily living, the EQ-5D, the EQ-VAS, the SF-36, use of health and social care services and the presence or absence of limiting illness, disability or infirmity. In terms of construct validity the EQ-5D was able to distinguish between hypothesised differences in the sample that could be expected to reflect differences in health-related quality of life. The EQ-5D items correlated well with conceptually similar items. Completion rates for the EQ-5D items were good, ranging from 98.3-98.8%. Completion rates for the EQ-VAS were 98.1%. Results suggest that the EQ-5D may provide a valid measure of health-related quality of life in a cross-sectional population sample of older adults, although the emphasis of the scale is very much on physical health and functioning. Results for the depression/anxiety item suggest that additional information may be needed if mental health is of concern.
A social model of loneliness: the roles of disability, social resources, and cognitive impairment
- Authors:
- BURHOLT Vanessa, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 57(6), 2017, pp.1020-1030.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Purpose of the study: The authors consider the points at which cognitive impairment may impact on the pathway to loneliness for older people, through impeding social interaction with family and friends, or by interfering with judgements concerning satisfaction with relationships. Design and methods: The authors conceptualise a mediation model anticipating that social resources (LSNS-6) will mediate the pathway between disability (Townsend Disability Scale) and loneliness (De Jong Gierveld 6-item scale) and a moderated-mediation model in which the authors hypothesise that cognitive impairment (MMSE) will moderate the association between disability and social resources and between social resources and loneliness. To validate the hypothesised pathways, the authors draw on the CFAS Wales data set (N = 3,593) which is a nationally representative study of community-dwelling people aged 65 and older in Wales. Results: Disability had a significant indirect effect on loneliness through the mediating variable social resources. Cognitive impairment was significantly associated with social resources, but did not moderate the relationship between disability and social resources. Cognitive impairment had a significant impact on loneliness, and moderated the effect of social resources on loneliness. Implications: Social structures can (dis)empower people with cognitive impairment and lead to exclusion from social resources or impact on the social construction of ageing, cognitive impairment, and dementia. The sense of self for an older person with cognitive impairment may be influenced by social norms and stereotypes, or through a temporal social comparison with an “earlier” sense of self. The authors conclude that loneliness interventions should be theoretically informed to identify key areas for modification. (Edited publisher abstract)
Future housing for older people
- Authors:
- BURHOLT Vanessa, WINDLE Gill
- Journal article citation:
- Working with Older People, 8(3), September 2004, pp.31-34.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Describes results from the Housing for an Ageing Population: Planning Implications (HAPPI) collaborative research at the University of Wales, Bangor, funded by Wales Office of Research and Development for Health and Social Care in partnership with Gwynedd Rural Ageing Network. One aim was to identify potential catalysts that may trigger a move and compare the perspectives of current and future cohorts of retirees. Gives findings on physical and psychological health, social support and house conditions, comparing 423 people 70 and over and 51 aged 50-60 in a rural area of North Wales. Results backed previous evidence that older people are reluctant to move.
Older people from South Asia: cross-national sample selection in India, Bangladesh and United Kingdom
- Author:
- BURHOLT Vanessa
- Journal article citation:
- Generations Review, 11(4), December 2001, pp.4-7.
- Publisher:
- British Society of Gerontology
Reports on first stages of a cross-national study which examines the impact of migration of family members on sources of help and support to older members of Gujarati, Punjabi and Sylheti families living in the United Kingdom, India and Bangladesh. Samples of people aged 55 and over were drawn from the UK and Asia. The UK sample was drawn from Gujarati, Punjabi and Sylheti elders in Birmingham via contacts established through local ethnic associations and the use of a 'snowball' technique. Looks at progress to date and discusses problems encountered in sampling the populations.
A support network typology for application in older populations with a preponderance of multigenerational households
- Authors:
- BURHOLT Vanessa, DOBBS Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 34(7), 2014, pp.1142-1169.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This paper considers the support networks of older people in populations with a preponderance of multigenerational households and examines the most vulnerable network types in terms of loneliness and isolation. Current common typologies of support networks may not be sensitive to differences within and between different cultures. This paper uses cross-sectional data drawn from 590 elders (Gujaratis, Punjabis and Sylhetis) living in the United Kingdom and South Asia. Six variables were used in K-means cluster analysis to establish a new network typology. Two logistic regression models using loneliness and isolation as dependent variables assessed the contribution of the new network type to wellbeing. Four support networks were identified: ‘Multigenerational Households: Older Integrated Networks’, ‘Multigenerational Households: Younger Family Networks’, ‘Family and Friends Integrated Networks’ and ‘Non-kin Restricted Networks’. Older South Asians with ‘Non-kin Restricted Networks’ were more likely to be lonely and isolated compared to others. Using network typologies developed with individualistically oriented cultures, distributions are skewed towards more robust network types and could underestimate the support needs of older people from familistic cultures, who may be isolated and lonely and with limited informal sources of help. The new typology identifies different network types within multigenerational households, identifies a greater proportion of older people with vulnerable networks and could positively contribute to service planning. (Publisher abstract)
Is home where the heart is? The affinities between people and betwixt places in later life
- Author:
- BURHOLT Vanessa
- Journal article citation:
- Generations Review, 19(2), April 2009, Online only
- Publisher:
- British Society of Gerontology
The author discusses the migration of older people, both within the UK, and transnationally. She then explores the maintenance or development of relationships between people and places - both physical and social. There is then a brief discussion about the importance of addressing some of the physical, social and psychological needs of older people who have severed an attachment to place by identifying the most important aspects of a community that they are leaving.
Bangladeshi immigration to the United Kingdom: older people's support networks in the sending and receiving countries
- Authors:
- BURHOLT Vanessa, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing, 1(2), December 2000, pp.18-30.
- Publisher:
- Pier Professional
- Place of publication:
- Brighton
The Bangladeshi Migrants Pilot study establishes the feasibility of applying the methods used in studying the informal support networks of older people in the majority population of Britain, specifically the Wenger support networks typology, to the elders of an immigrant group, and to elders who have remained in the region of origin. The samples consists of Bangladeshis aged 55+ in Tower Hamlets, London, United Kingdom, and Sylhet in Bangladesh. The paper provides an ethnohistory of Bangladeshi immigration to the United Kingdom, a comparison of the support networks of Bangladeshis living in Sylhet and Tower Hamlet, and a comparison of support networks of Bangladeshis with rural and urban dwellers in the United Kingdom. The Practitioner Assessment of Network Typology algorithm produces support network types in 99% of cases and demonstrates that the instrument is applicable in different cultures. Results show little difference between the support networks of Bangladeshis in Sylhet compared with London. There are significant differences between support networks of the Bangladeshi samples and the rural and urban United Kingdom samples.
Social support networks of older migrants in England and Wales: the role of collectivist culture
- Authors:
- BURHOLT Vanessa, DOBBS Christine, VICTOR Christina
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 38(7), 2018, pp.1453-1477.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This article tests the fit of a social support network typology developed for collectivist cultures to six migrant populations living in England and Wales. We examine the predictive utility of the typology to identify networks most vulnerable to poor quality of life and loneliness. Variables representing network size, and the proportion of the network classified by gender, age, kin and proximity, were used in confirmatory and exploratory latent profile analysis to fit models to the data (N = 815; Black African, Black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese). Multinomial logistic regression examined associations between demographic variables and network types. Linear regression examined associations between network types and wellbeing outcomes. A four-profile model was selected. Multigenerational Household: Younger Family networks were most robust with lowest levels of loneliness and greatest quality of life. Restricted Non-kin networks were least robust. Multigenerational Household: Younger Family networks were most prevalent for all but the Black Caribbean migrants. The typology is able to differentiate between networks with multigenerational households and can help identify vulnerable networks. There are implications for forecasting formal services and variation in networks between cultures. The use of a culturally appropriate typology could impact on the credibility of gerontological research. (Edited publisher abstract)