scholarly journals Ageing unequally in Europe

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Olivera

Abstract To shed light on the quality of the ageing experience in Europe and its heterogeneity, this study adapts and computes the Active Ageing Index—an index constructed at the country level to monitor ageing quality in Europe—at the individual level. This strategy allows the measuring of inequality in the experience of active ageing and is flexible enough to consider different value judgements in the overall assessment of the quality of life while ageing. The study examines the predictors of this inequality by using regressions with a Gini-recentred influence function. It finds that education plays a very significant role in reducing inequality, though its influence varies across countries. Furthermore, the study uncovers large variance in the quality of the ageing experience across Europe. For instance, more than 50% of the populations of Romania, Lithuania and Bulgaria show a level of active ageing quality lower than that of the bottom decile of the distribution in Sweden.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S533-S533
Author(s):  
Daniel Doh ◽  
Kwadwo Adusei-Asante ◽  
Vicki Banham

Abstract In most parts of the world, people are now living longer lives, which presents both opportunities and concerns over how to make the ageing process a worthwhile experience. The World Health Organisation’s Active Ageing model became a prominent global policy response since 2002 and has evolved into different country-level ageing policies. While a considerable volume of literature exists on active ageing – testing the validity of its various components, there is limited empirical evidence of how social interaction contributes to active ageing for older people and how it can be promoted through policy. In this paper, we examine social interaction and how it contributes to lived experiences of active ageing among a sample of 30 older Ghanaians living in Australia and Ghana. Our findings confirm the significance of social interaction for active ageing, and shows that social interaction creates a sense of purpose for living, which leads to the ability of the individual to build resilience, which mitigates anxieties and pains associated with ill health (especially for frail older people); enhances self-motivation for play and fun; empowers the individual to explore opportunities for continuous activity including leisure, and improves the general feeling of happiness resulting in active ageing – quality of life. The paper’s main argument is that social interaction presents potentials for improving the quality of life (active ageing) for older people and needs to be carefully considered in policy, research and practice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 541-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
MIKKEL BARSLUND ◽  
MARTEN VON WERDER ◽  
ASGHAR ZAIDI

ABSTRACTIn the context of emerging challenges and opportunities associated with population ageing, the study of inequality in active-ageing outcomes is critical to the design of appropriate and effective social policies. While there is much discussion about active ageing at the aggregate country level, little is known about inequality in active-ageing experiences within countries. Based on the existing literature on active ageing, this paper proposes an individual-level composite active ageing index based on Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) data. The individual-level nature of the index allows us to analyse inequality in experiences of active ageing within selected European countries. One important motivation behind measuring active ageing at the individual level is that it allows for a better understanding of unequal experiences of ageing, which may otherwise be masked in aggregate-level measures of active ageing. Results show large differences in the distribution of individual-level active ageing across the 13 European countries covered and across age groups. Furthermore, there is a positive association between the country-level active ageing index and the equality of its distribution within a country. Hence, countries with the lowest average active ageing index tend to have the most unequal distribution in active-ageing experiences. For nine European countries, where temporal data are also available, we find that inequality in active-ageing outcomes decreased in the period 2004 to 2013.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 72-77
Author(s):  
Hee-Chul Choi

This study aimed to contribute to the preparation of an action plan for the improvement of the quality of life of firefighters at the individual level by examining how the working environment as perceived by firefighters affects their quality of life. To this end, this study conducted a survey that used purposive sampling targeting 201 fire-fighting officers in Incheon. The survey results showed that of the sub-variables of the working environment of firefighters, monetary rewards, challenges, and promotion had a significant influence on the quality of life. Based on the results, this study suggested various action plans that can support the working environment and improve the quality of life of firefighters.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 697-715
Author(s):  
Justine Virlée ◽  
Allard C.R. van Riel ◽  
Wafa Hammedi

Purpose This study aims to develop a better understanding of how online health community (OHC) members with different health literacy (HL) levels benefit from their participation, through the analysis and comparison of their resource integration (RI) processes. It investigates through a RI lens how the vulnerability of community members – captured as their level of HL – affects the benefits they derive from participation. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to investigate the effects of healthcare service users’ vulnerability. Data were collected about their profiles and levels of HL. Furthermore, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted. Findings The study demonstrates how low levels of HL act as a barrier to the integration of available online health resources. Participation in OHCs appears less beneficial for vulnerable users. Three types of benefits were identified at the individual level, namely, psychological quality-of-life, physical quality-of-life and learning. Benefits identified at the community level were: content generation and participation in the development of the community. Originality/value This study has implications for the understanding of how service users’ activities affect their own outcomes and how the vulnerability of users could be anticipated and considered in the design of the community.


2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-357
Author(s):  
SHINYA SASAOKA ◽  
KATSUNORI SEKI

AbstractThis article examines whether democracy affects quality of life. Scholars have conducted surveys to investigate whether democracy is likely to lead to good quality of life. There are two contested views to the relationship: some suggest that democracy has a positive causal effect on quality of life, whereas others contend that democracy does not play such a role. Previous findings are supported by cross-national statistical analysis with aggregated survey data. However, aggregated survey data may cause ecological fallacy. Also, in order to ascertain the extant research, it would be beneficial to test the hypothesis by incorporating both individual- and country-level variables. Therefore, this paper applied hierarchical modeling to investigate the regularity. Both individual-level perception of democracy and country-level political regime data were incorporated in our empirical model. Our findings suggest that individual-level satisfaction with democracy has positive causal effect on one's quality of life, whereas the country-level characteristic of the political regime has no effect.


2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 1801919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. McGoon ◽  
Pisana Ferrari ◽  
Iain Armstrong ◽  
Migdalia Denis ◽  
Luke S. Howard ◽  
...  

The assessment of objective measurement of cardiopulmonary status has helped us achieve better clinical outcomes for patients and develop new therapies through to the point of market access; however, patient surveys indicate that more can be done to improve holistic care and patient engagement. In this multidisciplinary review, we examine how clinical teams can acknowledge and embrace the individual patient's perspective, and thus improve the care for individual patients suffering from pulmonary hypertension by cultivating the importance and relevance of health-related quality of life in direct clinical care. At the individual level, patients should be provided with access to accredited specialist centres which provide a multidisciplinary approach where there is a culture focused on narrative medicine, quality of life, shared decision making and timely access to palliative care, and where there is participation in education. On a larger scale, we call for the development, expansion and promotion of patient associations to support patients and carers, lobby for access to best care and treatments, and provide input into the development of clinical trials and registries, focusing on the patients’ perspective.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 115-120
Author(s):  
Vyacheslav Bobkov ◽  
A. Akimov

It is shown that the theory of social quality is developed as a philosophical paradigm in relation to the modern capitalist modernization of the economy today, accompanied by the loss of the "social component". The indicators of social quality allowing to carry out subjective assessment of quality of life not at the individual level, but at the level of country societies are considered. The article describes the results of the international sociological forum "Social Quality and Social Management", held in Beijing, China, in September 2018. The features of the Russian scientific school of studying the level and quality of life formed in the All-Russia Centre of Living Standards, and allowing to measure the level and quality of life in the unity of its objective and subjective characteristics are outlined. The features of noospheric socialism which is a model of sustainable development of society, allowing to combine the development of the theory of social quality and the theory of living standards and quality of life, and developed by Russian scientists belonging to the noosphere scientific school have been analyzed.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. e0262103
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Mori ◽  
Michio Takahashi ◽  
Masaki Adachi ◽  
Hiroki Shinkawa ◽  
Tomoya Hirota ◽  
...  

Social capital is an important factor that affects mental health. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between social capital and depression and between social capital and quality of life (QoL) in children in elementary and junior high school and to examine how this relationship differs in relevant patterns at both the individual- and school-level. The study was conducted in all elementary and junior high schools in a single municipality; the subjects consisted of 3,722 elementary school and 3,987 junior high school students (aged from 9 to 15). A multilevel linear mixed effect model analysis revealed that all three subscales of social capital were associated with depression and QoL at the individual-level: The school social capital at the individual-level showed the strongest association with depression and QoL. We also found that some of social capital at the school-level was associated with depression and QoL. An interactive effect was observed between educational stage (elementary and junior high) and some of social capital subscales. Specifically, the inverse association between school social capital and depression was stronger among the junior high students, while the positive association between school and neighborhood social capital and QoL was stronger among the elementary students. These interactions suggest that social capital impacts depression and QoL differently in elementary and junior high students. These findings suggest that the degree of association of social capital domains differs in mental health among the educational stage.


Author(s):  
L. Moroz ◽  
S. Yakovenko

The article reveals the possibility and feasibility of applying an environmental approach to understanding the mental state of the population, which considers itself a victim as a result of the information and psychological war that is being waged against the Ukraine by the media of the Russian Federation. At the individual level, personal anxiety factors are the properties of the higher nervous system, which determine endurance and sensitivity to the influence of stressors, flexibility of thinking, which contributes to successful adaptation to changing and unfavorable living conditions. The mental state of a person is largely dependent on the quality of life, the assessment of threats to well-being and safety.


Author(s):  
Mohammad Karimi

Dental and oral health is an important part that plays a significant role in the quality of life of people in our society, especially children, but due to insufficient attention, tooth decay in the world is increasing every year. Promoting oral hygiene requires the people's easy access to primary oral health care and the use of these services should be classified.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document