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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Social networks and health of older people living in sheltered housing | | Author(s) | E M Field, M H Walker, M W Orrell |
| Journal title | Aging & Mental Health, vol 6, no 4, November 2002 |
| Pages | pp 372-386 |
| Source | http://www.tandfonline.com |
| Keywords | Social contacts ; Health [elderly] ; Mental health [elderly] ; Sheltered housing ; Social surveys ; Harlow. |
| Annotation | 87 residents from three sheltered accommodation schemes for people aged 60+ in Harlow, Essex, were interviewed about their physical and mental health, social networks, social support, decisions to move in, and how they found living in sheltered housing. 24% had a diagnosis of depression, and 8% dementia, but few had ever seen a mental health professional. More than half (55%) had clinically significant levels of activity limitation; 37% had significant somatic symptoms. Despite provision of glasses, 37% could not see satisfactorily, and 23% could not hear adequately. Locally integrated social networks were most common (41%). Residents with a private network (16%) were more likely than those with a locally integrated network to have significant activity limitation, and often reported being lonely. There were no differences between network types in levels of depression or dementia. Poor health of a person or spouse was the most common reason for moving to sheltered housing, followed by problems with their old home no longer being suitable. Most were happy living in sheltered accommodation. Many made use of the "sheltered" features such as the common room, the communal laundry, the warden and the alarm. A minority of residents were lonely and a few were unhappy with sheltered accommodation. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-021216534 A |
| Classmark | TOA: CC: D: KLA: 3F: 8ESE |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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