Ageing in the UK. Research Methods for Social Sciences

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main Text
Aims of Plan
What is the Research Question?
Proposed Methodology and Rationale
Data Collection and Analysis
Bibliography

Introduction

Across the development divide, countries such as the UK confront the challenges of populations increasingly skewed toward the elderly (and rapidly so) while some developing countries still cope with the strain of predominantly young populations. Economic historian Emma Joseph of the London School of Economics and Prof. Johnson of the University of Pennsylvania ascribe the phenomenon of “greying” populations to long-term declines in both fertility and mortality, notably in Europe as a whole, the United States and Japan (BBC, 2004).

Main Text

There are three grounds for universal concern, a United Nations briefing for the World Assembly on Ageing and its follow-up warns (Population Division, 2002):

The phenomenon is entirely new to human experience and will continue become even more pronounced in the twenty-first century;
Accelerating ageing has the potential to affect everyone in the nation, if only because of the competition between the elderly and the very young for support from wage earners and the self-employed.
There is no reversing the trend. Progress in the life sciences will see to that.

Figure 1

By 2050, the UN Population Division estimates, the large cohort of Britons in their 30s and 40s will be at the threshold of retiring or have done so (see Figure 1). Fully a third of the nation’s population will be 60 years of age or older (see also Appendix 1 for other details), over one-fourth will be at least 65 and one in nine 80+ years in age. In total, there will be only a 2:1 ratio between the working population 15 to 64 years old and the elderly.

In just 17 years or by 2025, there will be 13.4 million Britons 65 years of age or older. This is a very substantial increase of 42.6 percent over the 2000 population of 9.35 million in the time it takes to raise an infant to mature and enter university. In the present situation where the NHS is hard pressed to even man all its services and commitments, forward planning is plainly needed to make provisions for care, to grapple with the scale of economic impact, and to accelerate the initiative of government for soliciting advice and assistance from all stakeholders.

Current State of Affairs

The more forward-looking of academic and health authorities empathize with the desire of the elderly to live out the third epoch of life in dignity, to receive the care they require, and in all other ways, to enjoy reasonably excellent quality of life. At the university level, preparing for the next decade and a half or the rest of the century must start with a sober assessment of where matters stand.

The following examples suffice at this point to suggest that viewpoints remain myopic and that concern for the elderly remains inextricably linked with gerontology. One needs to get away from a narrow-minded focus on degenerative diseases and dementia.

While the concern with dementia is valid enough –the University of Bradford estimates there are three-quarters of a million afflicted in the UK (2008) – the fact is the school offers no less than three ways to specialise in treating the degenerative condition: a Professional Development Programme in Dementia Care, DipHE in Dementia Studies, and BSc (Hons) in Dementia Studies. These have the unfortunate consequence of revealing narrowed perspectives on the clearly varied needs of the elderly.

Representative of the other extreme is the somewhat lackadaisical attitude where degrees and clinical practices subsume concern for the elderly under more general areas. For example, the University of Reading offers a 3 year full-time Degree in ‘Psychology, Childhood and Ageing’. At the Cheltenham General Hospital and Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust, elderly care is entrusted to Registrars and Residents specialising in either ‘General and Old Age Medicine’ or ‘Adult Medicine/Elderly Care’. True, the department of General and Old Age Medicine admits to dealing primarily with the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of older people. During confinement, patients are seen by a multidisciplinary team usually including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, dieticians, social workers, pharmacists and psychologists since the avowed aim is to restore the elderly not only to health but also independence and a sustained quality of life. In turn, the Delancey Hospital, RW1 and RW2 units of the Trust provide ongoing care of older people with more complex needs, and those requiring a re-organisation of their care at home before leaving hospital. There are also specialist clinics, usually led by Consultants, that specialise in stroke, falls and movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease. Once older patients regain optimal health and can be discharged to community living, the Trust has ongoing links with community hospitals and a variety of Intermediate care services in Gloucestershire so primary care can subsequently be administered as needed.

Forward-looking releases from government notwithstanding, it would seem that educating for elderly care under the aegis of a great drive for training in the healthcare sector are limited to upgrading staff to NVQ level 2 (Train to Gain). At that, institutions that respond are left on their own to find sources for mandatory and bespoke short courses.

Aims of Plan

In general terms, this government-funded study will aim to:

Test target public awareness, interest in, and conviction about taking action to prepare better for an ever-expanding population of elderly.
Gauge public attitudes to care, health, accommodation, quality of life gaps, professional preparedness, and many other issues associated with ageing.
Test the consensus for the extent to which gaps in service delivery to the elderly can be remedied with new areas of academic and professional training.
Gather expert opinion on occupational effects of expected advances in life sciences and technology that might apply to various aspects elderly lifestyles.
Investigate what other opportunities exist in respect of care for the elderly in the coming decades.

What is the Research Question?

Accordingly, the central question of this research plan pertains to ‘what is the broader scope of academic curricula’ that will better inform public policy and provide the full range of specialised occupational skills the elderly will need in future?’

Proposed Methodology and Rationale

The study hypothesis going forward is that enriching academic curricula must take into account the concerns of all stakeholders. As well, a combination of primary data-gathering methods will be required to optimise the rigour, reliability and validity of the plan.

The Key Resources to be Surveyed

Over a time scale of 30 months, this study will pool a variety of resources:

An extensive review of the literature in order to arrive at a comprehensive inventory of the needs of the elderly and the specialist occupations required to satisfy those needs.
The elderly themselves, including those nearing retirement, to update our understanding of a cohort that had, in the course of their working and business lives, known war, liberalism, wrenching economic change and the flowering of the information age.
The families and community-based carers expected to lend an objective view of assistance needed from known and absent specialist occupations.
The front liners in primary health care.
Pulling together interdisciplinary teams of social and medical scientists to consult with academic leaders on occupational manning needs in the long term.
All other organisations that presently play a role in catering to elderly wants and needs (see below for a partial listing).

As to the stakeholders:

Stakeholders by Type
The elderly themselves	Still gainfully employed Retired/Second career In home, nursing or care home In need of acute or emergency care
Government bodies or support organisations Area: Learning and Technology	Age Concern – supports people over 50, provides day care, information, age discrimination and pensions. Digital Unite – provides ways to deliver IT literacy, to individuals and communities. Help the Aged Seniorline – provides over 50s with free advice leaflets and a welfare rights advice line. Learndirect – provides online courses, and information about the network of learndirect centres. REACH – brings together voluntary organisations and volunteers with career skills. RSVP – assists over 50s to participate in their local area through volunteering. Silver Surfers – provides website resources for over 50s.
Care and community contacts	Action on Elder Abuse provides information, advice and support to victims and others who are concerned about or have witnessed abuse. Commission for Social Care Inspection Community Legal Service – first port of call for legal help and information in England and Wales. Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) – compiles a list of people who are unsuitable to work in social care settings. Public Guardianship Office – handles the financial affairs of someone mentally incapacitated through illness or injury. WRVS – a charity that supports people in need who might otherwise feel lonely and isolated.
Work and career	Age Positive promotes the benefits of employing a mixed-age workforce, that includes older people. Business Link – providing practical information on all aspects of running a business. Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) – responsible for the government’s welfare reform agenda, delivering support and advice to people of working age, employers, disabled people, pensioners, families and children. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) – have a helpline for the newly self-employed. Jobcentre Plus Mentoring + Befriending Foundation — offers support to practitioners and organisations about mentoring and befriending. New Deal 50 plus – a programme for people aged 50 or over who have been out of work and claiming benefits for at least six months. PRIME – the Prince’s Initiative for mature enterprise, a not-for-profit national organisation dedicated to helping people over 50 set up in business. Shaw Trust – provides training and work opportunities for people who are disadvantaged due to disability, ill health or other social circumstances. The Age and Employment Network (TAEN) – an independent charity that works with people in mid-life and later life who are looking for employment, developing their careers, undertaking training, or want a change of direction The Coaching and Mentoring Network – keeps users informed of the latest developments in coaching and mentoring.
Retirement Contacts	Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) – offers offers help to some people who have lost out on a company pension. Pension Protection Fund – pays out compensation for certain company pension funds where an employer became insolvent on or after 6 April 2005. Pension Tracing Service – provides help with tracing an old pension. Senior Railcard The Pension Service – providing information for individuals about pensions and other pensioner benefits in the UK. The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) – helps the public with pensions problems. Provides information and guidance on State Pension; company, personal, stakeholder and occupational pensions. Veterans Agency – administers War Pension Scheme and provides welfare services to former servicepeople.
Financial advice and support	Citizens Advice Bureau – offers advice on a wide range of subjects from housing and health, to debt and consumer issues. Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) responsible for the government’s welfare reform agenda, delivering support and advice to people of working age, employers, disabled people, pensioners, families and children. Financial Services Authority (FSA) – regulates the financial services industry in the UK. Forces Pensions Society – helps members with individual pension problems. Help the Aged – provides Over50s with free advice leaflets and a welfare rights advice line.
Health and well-being	British Heart Foundation CancerBACUP – provides help for people living with cancer. Department of Health (DH) Extend – supplies recreational movement to music for men and women over 60. Keep Fit Association – aiming to bring people together with safe and effective exercise. National Insititute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) – an independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health. NHS Direct – operates a 24-hour nurse advice and health information service, providing confidential information. Ramblers – promoting walking and improving conditions in the UK for walkers. Sport England – committed to the modernisation of sport, driving up skills and improving services across the sector.

Data Collection and Analysis

Research Strategy and Process

In broad terms, we plan for a three stage process combining:

The first stage of qualitative methods is required by the presumption that one needs to know the full range of quality-of-life goals and care that needs to be delivered to a sophisticated population of elderly Britons. The open-ended mindset of focus group discussions, depth interviews and (for those nearing or already in retirement) a one-month electronic or traditional diary will be required to canvass all critical issues and:

Complete the questionnaire content for the second-stage quantitative studies.
Refine the working hypotheses and independent variables that will be examined in randomised controlled trials.

At the third stage, findings will be discussed in professional, government and academic symposia in order to draw up the recommendations for academic curricula.

Study Instrument

Even at the exploratory stage, it is already possible to foresee study instruments that address a comprehensive range of issues relating to care or quality of life for the elderly. These issues include:

General primary, acute and critical care
Disability care
General health and fitness
Mental health
Day centres, residential and nursing care homes
Second careers and personal learning
Counselling
Entrepreneurship, home business
Care payments, personal financial management and pensions
Volunteerism
Travel, leisure, driving and mobility
Social activity, belonging to organisations such as political parties or trade unions, charities or sports clubs
Extended and nuclear family networks
End-of-life issues: wills and benefits

Area Coverage

Nationwide, in both urban and rural settings across both England and Ireland.

Data Analysis

This will consist of content analysis in the first stage, cross-tabulation and statistical significance in the second, and consultations or peer review in the third stage.

Bibliography

BBC (2004) Are we the wrong age?, Open2Net, The Open University. 2008. Web.

United Nations Population Division (2002) World population ageing: 1950-2050, Dept. of Economics and Social Affairs, Population Division. Web.

University of Bradford (2002) Dementia studies, Undergraduate Courses 2008. Web.

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