A new piece of research highlighted in the August edition of Ageing and Society considers why a growing number of older people are choosing park-home living. The research, a study of 40 park-home residents, by Mark Bevan of the Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York, notes that around 160,000 people live in park-homes and that the majority of these are older people.
Monthly Archives: July 2010
Park-home Living – A Lifestyle Choice for Retirement?
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The Surprising Truth Behind Intergenerational Happiness
Tucked neatly away in the top hand corner of the Sunday Observer magazine was the UK’s ‘life satisfaction scale’. According to this bar chart and indeed several other studies, wellbeing across the lifespan is ‘U-Shaped’. Happiness levels are moderate to high in our late teens and early twenties, plummet in our mid 40’s and then climb magnificently to the happiest age of all, 74[1]. So, while this is clearly bad news for thirty-somethings like myself, with two decades of relatively low life satisfaction to ‘look forward to,’ this is surely good news for our burgeoning ageing population.
Obese at 5 Years Old; What Hope to Work Until 70?
This week Marks and Spencer have announced the launch of “plus size” school uniforms for overweight or obese primary school children [1]. The retailer says it has taken this step to meet the demands of some parents. The plus size uniforms cater for ages three to six, and will be sold on-line on a trial basis [2]. On one level this is a little shocking, but one can understand the retailer wanting to cater for children who have had difficulties buying appropriately sized school clothes.
Carrot and Stick Approach Necessary to Tackle Digital Exclusion
Martha Lane-Fox this week published the Race Online 2012 Manifesto for a Networked Nation(1). It’s a report with a large number of recommendations to inspire, encourage and support individuals to go online.
ILC-UK @ BSG: Does Healthy Ageing Have a Cultural Lens
We use the term “healthy ageing” quite often, but what does it mean and does that meaning have a cultural lens? The EU funded project “HealthyAgeing” developed the following broad definition:
“Healthy ageing is the process of optimising equal opportunities for health in order to enable older people to take an active part in society and to enjoy an independent and good quality of life.”
Guest Blog: Andrea Rozario – Director General of Ship
You can hardly open a newspaper without being confronted by the issue of insufficient retirement savings and the effects that increased longevity has on this issue. Whether it is the Daily Mail “A Generation in Denial”, City AM “Golden Years of Retirement Turn Sour“ or – the somewhat more subdued – Financial Times “Insurer Warns on Pensions Savings” – everyone agrees that the future is looking less than bright for those hoping to retire. However, while most people agree that there is a problem, there is significantly less agreement as to what the solution might be.
ILC-UK @ BSG – Community Design and Fear
At last week’s British Society of Gerontology conference, Liesbeth De Donder of Vrije Universiteit Brussels presented new Belgian research on the relationship of the build environment to feelings of insecurity.
ILC-UK @ BSG – Sleep in Old Age
Rebekah Luff of the University of Surrey presented new research on somnia at last week’s British Society of Gerontology conference.
ILC-UK @ BSG – The Impact of Extra Care on Frailty and Social Resources
Paul Nash and Vanessa Burholt of the Centre for Innovative Ageing at Swansea University presented new research on extra care housing at this week’s British Society of Gerontology conference. Based on their study of residents in extra care housing, residential care facilities, and people receiving community care, they presented findings on incidences of frailty in extra care schemes, and the impact of extra care on the social resources of widowhood.
ILC-UK @ BSG – Older People’s Transport Needs: Issues of Design and Access
The British Society of Gerontology conference, held this week at Brunel University, featured several papers on transport needs – particularly the role of the car in older people’s well-being.