The health and well-being of older women living alone in the United Kingdom and beyond: a scoping review

Forward, Cat; Khan, Hafiz T. A.; Fox, Pauline

doi:10.1080/08952841.2020.1788365

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Those who live alone are likely to have been disproportionately affected and evidence is starting to emerge regarding the effects this might have on longer-term health and wellbeing (Douglas et al, 2020;Fingerman et al, 2021;Kamin et al, 2021;Portacolone et al, 2021). There is limited evidence of the experience of older woman who live alone in the UK and therefore this paper will add to knowledge in this area (Forward et al, 2020). Presented in this paper are the ndings from interviews with seven women over the age of 65 who were interviewed about their experience of living alone in the UK during the Covid pandemic.…”

Section: Covid and Living Alonementioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, as an aspect of the social environment of ageing, living alone requires a better understanding as the health outcomes of those living alone can be poorer (Chen and While, 2019, Koivunen et al, 2020;Teguo et al, 2016). It also is a key component of the 'Ageing-in-place' approach adopted by many governments which aims to support people to live in their own homes in later life (Forward et al, 2020;Khan et al, 2018;Sixsmith et al, 2014). Living alone does not predict poorer health and wellbeing outcomes for all (Shim et al, 2021), and gender is one factor which has been shown to in uence the experience of later life and health and wellbeing outcomes (Matsuura & Ma, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The experience of living alone as an older woman in the UK during the Covid pandemic: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

Forward

Fox

Khan

2022

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Background and Objectives More people are living alone across the life course: in later life this can have implications for practical and psychosocial support. The Covid pandemic emphasised the importance of this when the UK government restricted movement outside of households to limit the spread of disease. This had important ramifications regarding social contact and practical support. The objectives of this study were to explore the experience of older women living alone during this time, with a focus on health and wellbeing. Research Design and Methods This study used an Interpretative Phenomenological approach. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with seven women (aged 65+), living alone in the UK. Interviews were carried out between May and October 2020. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse the transcripts. Results Findings show that life course events shaped how living alone was experienced in later life. Convergences and divergences in lived experience were identified. Three superordinate themes emerged from the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Productivity, Ownership, and Interconnectedness. Discussion and Implications Findings highlight the importance of life course events in shaping the experience of later life. They also provide a better understanding of the lived experience of living alone as an older woman, increasing knowledge of this group and how living alone can affect health and wellbeing. Implications for research and practice are discussed, such as the importance of recognising the specific support needs for this group in later life, and the need for further knowledge about groups whose needs are not met by standard practice.

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Section: Covid and Living Alonementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The experience of living alone as an older woman in the UK during the Covid pandemic: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

Forward

Fox

Khan

2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, as an aspect of the social environment of ageing, living alone requires a better understanding as the health outcomes of those living alone can be poorer [ 5 – 7 ]. It also is a key component of the ‘Ageing-in-place’ approach adopted by many governments which aims to support people to live in their own homes in later life [ 8 – 10 ]. Living alone does not predict poorer health and wellbeing outcomes for all [ 11 ], and gender is one factor which has been shown to influence the experience of later life and health and wellbeing outcomes [ 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The research presented here forms part of a larger study which explored in detail the health and wellbeing of older women living alone. This group has been shown to be more vulnerable to poorer health and wellbeing outcomes and therefore research is indicated to understand and address this [ 8 , 9 , 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Those who live alone are likely to have been disproportionately affected and evidence is starting to emerge regarding the effects this might have on longer-term health and wellbeing [ 26 – 29 ]. There is limited evidence of the experience of older women who live alone in the UK and therefore this paper will add to knowledge in this area [ 8 ]. Presented in this paper are the findings from interviews with seven women over the age of 65 who were interviewed about their experience of living alone in the UK during the Covid pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The experience of living alone as an older woman in the UK during the Covid pandemic: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

2023

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Background and objectives More people are living alone across the life course: in later life this can have implications for practical and psychosocial support. The Covid pandemic emphasised the importance of this when the UK government restricted movement outside of households to limit the spread of disease. This had important ramifications regarding social contact and practical support. The objectives of this study were to explore the experience of older women living alone during this time, with a focus on health and wellbeing. Research design and methods This study used an Interpretative Phenomenological approach. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with seven women (aged 65 +), living alone in the UK. Interviews were carried out between May and October 2020. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse the transcripts. Results Findings show that life course events shaped how living alone was experienced in later life. Convergences and divergences in lived experience were identified. Three superordinate themes emerged from the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Productivity, Ownership, and Interconnectedness. Discussion and implications Findings highlight the importance of life course events in shaping the experience of later life. They also provide a better understanding of the lived experience of living alone as an older woman, increasing knowledge of this group and how living alone can affect health and wellbeing. Implications for research and practice are discussed, such as the importance of recognising the specific support needs for this group in later life, and the need for further knowledge about groups whose needs are not met by standard practice.

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Older Women Living Alone in the UK: Does Their Health and Wellbeing Differ from Those Who Cohabit?

2021

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With an increased prevalence of people living alone in later life, understanding the health and wellbeing of older women living alone in the UK is an important area of research. Little is known about health and wellbeing in this population and whether they differ from those who cohabit. This paper fills this research gap. Analysis was undertaken of Wave 8 of the Understanding Society Household Panel Survey, including variables such as internet use and volunteering. Differences were found between those who live alone and cohabit. Volunteering was a predictor of better health outcomes for those who lived alone but not for those who cohabit, despite similar rates of volunteering. Internet use predicted some better health outcome for those who cohabit but poorer for those who live alone. This suggests lifestyle factors vary in how they affect the health and wellbeing of older women, depending on cohabitation status.

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The health and well-being of older women living alone in the United Kingdom and beyond: a scoping review

Cited by 8 publications

References 81 publications

The experience of living alone as an older woman in the UK during the Covid pandemic: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

The experience of living alone as an older woman in the UK during the Covid pandemic: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

The experience of living alone as an older woman in the UK during the Covid pandemic: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Older Women Living Alone in the UK: Does Their Health and Wellbeing Differ from Those Who Cohabit?

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