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Background Population ageing is a global challenge and understanding the dynamics of living arrangements in later life and their implications for the design of appropriate housing and long-term care is a critical policy issue. Existing research has focused on the study of transitions into residential care in the UK. This paper investigates transitions into sheltered accommodation among older people in England and Wales between 1993 and 2008. Methods The study uses longitudinal data constructed from pooled observations across waves 2-18 of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) data, focusing on individuals aged 65 and over who lived in private housing at baseline and who were observed for two consecutive time points. A discrete-time logistic regression model was used to examine the association of transitioning into sheltered accommodation with a range of demographic, health and socioeconomic predictors. Results Demographic (age, region), socioeconomic factors (housing tenure, having a washing machine) and contact with health professionals (number of visits to the general practitioner, start in use of health visitor) were significant determinants of an older person's move into sheltered accommodation. Conclusions Transitions into sheltered accommodation are associated with a range of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics as well as service use but not with health. Such results indicate that this type of housing option may be accessible by individuals with relatively good health, but may be limited to those who are referred by gatekeepers. Policymakers could consider making such housing option available to everyone, as well as providing incentives for building lifecourse-sensitive housing in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of disparities in socio-economic status on the health of older people is an important issue for policy makers in the context of population ageing. As older people live in different types of economic circumstances and because, as people age, their desires and needs are different to those of younger generations, measures of living standards need to be appropriate for older people. This paper reports on the validation of a measure of living standards for older people based on Sen's Capability Approach. Using this approach, living standards are conceptualised as varying from constraint to freedom rather than from hardship to comfort. Using the New Zealand Longitudinal Study of Ageing omnibus survey of 3,923 adults aged 50–87 years, the validity of the measure was assessed. The results indicate that this measure assesses what older people are able to achieve. In addition, this measure discriminates better at the higher end of the living standards spectrum than an existing measure that assesses living standards from hardship to comfort in terms of what people possess. From this, a short form of the measure has been developed which offers a conceptually based and valid measure useful for survey research with older people. This measure of living standards provides future avenues for improved understandings of socio-economic position in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ageing in place has been promoted by policy makers as the optimal residential solution for later life, premised on older people's reluctance to contemplate relocation, their declining residential mobility and high levels of residential satisfaction. This paper takes a critical perspective to the notion of ageing in place by examining older people's dislikes about, rather than levels of satisfaction with their home and neighbourhood environments, and establishing whether such dislikes influence a desire to move. Analysis of the 2004 Living in Wales Survey shows that despite high levels of residential satisfaction, a significant proportion of older people do wish to move. Logistic regression results indicate this desire is strongly associated with dislikes about their immediate home environment, more than neighbourhood factors. Contemplating a move in later life may be shaped more by a desire to ‘attach’ to people, than to remain in situ to preserve an attachment to place. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study identifies specific target areas (health, healthcare, home stability, food stability, and caregiving status) for serving middle-aged and older military veterans in Alabama. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) conducted a survey of Alabama military veterans (n = 556) in 2018 related to health issues, healthcare utilization, home stability, food stability, and caregiving status. The most prevalent health issue among Alabama veterans was high blood pressure (55.36%), followed by diabetes (30.88%), heart disease (16.49%), and cancer (14.27%). Results showed that 11.06% of veterans used mental health services in the last 12 months. While less than 5% of veterans reported hunger risk, 20.09% of veterans experienced housing instability in the last 12 months, and 9.94% of veterans reported being a caregiver. Veteran support organizations could help the veteran population by addressing health, healthcare, home and food stability, and caregiving issues. Implications and suggested interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of use of hearing aids by older adults in Chile and the influence of some variables such as education level, income level and geographic area of residence on the prevalence of hearing aids.Design:A national cross-sectional survey which was carried out in 2009.Study sample: A representative sample of 4766 Chilean older adults aged 60 years and above.Results: The percentage of older adults in Chile who self-reported hearing problems and used hearing aids was 8.9%. Such prevalence increased for adults living in urban areas and for those who knew about the new Chilean programme of universal access to health services (AUGE). For older adults who did not know about this programme, significant associations between the use of hearing aids and the variables of age, geographic area of residence, and income level were found.Conclusions: People’s knowledge about AUGE programme may positively influence the use of hearing aids, although a direct effect cannot be attributed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ageing populations entail important social issues. The population of Lodz is characterised by the highest ageing ratio in Poland (17.2% people aged 65 or above). The aim of our study was to present factors determining the use of social support services in the subpopulation of elderly people in a city environment. The study, conducted between 2011 and 2012 with the use of a survey questionnaire, included 466 respondents aged 65 or older, who were looked after by the Municipal Social Welfare Centre, Lodz-Polesie. The response rate was 93.2%. Most beneficiaries were women (77.9%). The respondents were mostly widows (73.9% of women) or widowers (43.7% of men). Most respondents applied for nursing services (79.7%), while 28.3% asked for financial help. In Lodz as a whole, these percentages were 81.0% and 19.0%. A chronic disease was the most common cause of the application for help (73.4%). In 4.1% of applicants, the cause was a low income per capita. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the variables which contributed to receiving financial support included being a man, aged 65-69 years, being single and receiving a monthly salary per capita below 500.0 PLN (Polish New Zlotys). The variables which contributed to receiving social care service in the form of nursing services included being a woman, aged 85 years or older, receiving a monthly salary per capita between 1001.0 and 1500.0 PLN, suffering from a chronic disease, which was a reason for applying for social support service, a result on the Activities of Daily Living scale confirming disability and a very negative self-evaluation of health. The results of the study have shown that the poor health condition of elderly people is the most frequent reason for applying for social services. Identifying reasons for applying for social care by elderly people might facilitate the introduction of workable solutions in the social and healthcare policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Active ageing is a key to healthy ageing; shopping behaviour is an economically relevant activity of the elderly. Methods Analysis was based on the NAHSIT 1999-2000 dataset. A total of 1841 representative free-living elderly Taiwanese people were selected and information included demographics, socioeconomic status, health behaviours, shopping frequencies, physical function and cognitive function. These data were linked to official death records. Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate shopping frequency on death from 1999-2008 with possible covariate adjustment. Results Highly frequent shopping compared to never or rarely predicted survival (HR 0.54, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.67) with adjustment for physical function and cognitive function and other covariates HR was 0.73 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.93). Elderly who shopped every day have 27% less risk of death than the least frequent shoppers. Men benefited more from everyday shopping than women with decreased HR 28% versus 23% compared to the least. Conclusion Shopping behaviour favourably predicts survival. Highly frequent shopping may favour men more than women. Shopping captures several dimensions of personal well-being, health and security as well as contributing to the community's cohesiveness and economy and may represent or actually confer increased longevity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review recent developments in longitudinal studies of aging, focusing on the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Both studies are part of a trend toward biosocial surveys in which biological measurement is joined with traditional survey techniques, and a related trend toward greater harmonization across studies. Both studies have collected DNA samples and are working toward genotyping that would allow broadly based association studies. Increased attention to psychological measurement of personality and of cognitive ability using adaptive testing structures has also been shared across the studies. The HRS has expanded its economic measurement to longitudinal studies of consumption and to broader-based measurement of pension and Social Security wealth. It has added biomarkers of cardiovascular risk. The WLS has developed an integrated approach to the study of death and bereavement and an innovative use of high school yearbook photographs to capture information about health in early life of its participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]