The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing follows the lives of people aged 50 and over. Wave 2 interviews were carried out during 2004-05. Some of the key findings were:
Half of older people experience at least one form of social exclusion.
Researchers from the National Centre for Social Research and the University of Sheffield found that half of older people experience at least one form of social exclusion and 7% experience three types or more.
Key risk factors included living alone, depending on benefits, being 80 or over and having no telephone or car.
Poor eyesight can influence health, mobility, social activities and economic well-being.
Researchers at University College London found a need for policies to address disadvantages faced by those with poor vision.
Poor eyesight can influence health, quality of life, mobility and the ability to look after oneself and take part in social activities, as well as economic well-being.
On the other hand, older people with poor eyesight tend to have good social networks and access to informal care. The ELSA findings demonstrate the need for better diagnosis and treatment of sight problems and better strategies to screen older people for visual impairment.
Researchers called for amendments to the government’s new contract for GPs.
Researchers at Imperial College London looked at how the chance of having a poor quality of life changes depending on whether you have a long-term illness or disability and how severe it is.
Those with a chronic illness have an 11% greater chance of a poor quality of life, they found. But if the illness imposes limits on everyday activity, the chance of having a poor quality life rises to over 68%.
Based on these findings, researchers have called for amendments to the government’s new contract for GPs to take account not just of long-term medical conditions but also whether they lead to impairment.