Social connections and well-being in older adults
Description: There are major demographic shifts throughout the world and the absolute number and proportion of older adults is increasing rapidly not only in the UK and Europe but also in middle income nations such as India and China. Promoting the well-being of the population is a focus for most governments, so it is crucial to understand what affects well-being in older adults and to identify the policy levers that can promote well-being. Many older people report that social relationships are particularly important to them, so our project focuses on different aspects of social relationships and how these are related to well-being. The term 'well-being' means different things to different people and can include life satisfaction, quality of life, and feelings of happiness. Social relationships can include contact with family or friends, how people feel about their communities, participation in various activities or groups and feelings of loneliness. Each of these may affect each dimension of well-being in different ways and are likely to vary depending on cultural factors. People who are poorer, those with an illness and those who are carers usually have low levels of well-being and we would like to know how social relationships affect well-being in these groups. Changes in well-being in older age are still poorly understood. As we have data on different aspects of well-being spanning several years, we will be able to see how these change over time and how these changes relate to changes in social relationships. This study is a collaboration between an academic group at University College London and a policy think-tank working on issues of ageing and longevity (the International Longevity Centre - UK), and will clarify these relationships using data from large cohorts of older adults from England, across Europe and India. We anticipate that findings from this study will help policy makers and practitioners develop policies and interventions that can help improve well-being in older age groups.
Amount: £142,400
Funding type: research
Start date: 2013-03-04
End date: 2014-09-02
Funded outputs count: 6
Funder award ID: ES/K003178/1
OpenAlex ID: G255459489