This study examined the underlying types of intergenerational relationship and social support network among impaired older adults in China and explained how they may influence the home- and community-based service (HCBS) purchase intentions of these individuals. Based on the 2018 and 2020 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Aging and Social Survey, a total of 3,397 older adults (aged ≥ 60 years, with at least one child) were selected. First, we used K-means cluster analysis to identify five types of intergenerational relationship among Chinese families: ‘tight-knit and proximal’, ‘parent-oriented and intimate’, ‘distant but intimate’, ‘independent-intimate’ and ‘child-oriented but emotionally detached’. Second, we examined the sizes of three distinct types of social support network among older Chinese adults: contact, instrumental and emotional. Subsequently, binary logistic regression was conducted to examine the relative impact of intergenerational relationships and social support networks on impaired older adults’ HCBS purchase intentions. Our findings revealed that under the moderation of social support networks, reciprocal intergenerational relationships exhibited fewer HCBS purchase intentions, while imbalanced intergenerational relationships exhibited diverse HCBS purchase intentions. The findings also underscore the ‘bridge’ function of older adults’ social support networks and the importance of community participation in promoting older adults’ utilization of support services.

Involuntary retirement has negative effects on an individual’s health and satisfaction with life. However, it remains unknown whether the recent European policy shift from early retirement towards extending working lives has impacted retirement voluntariness.

This study examines how socio-demographic factors affect retirement voluntariness, which is classified as ‘involuntary’ (e.g. being laid off), ‘voluntary’ (e.g. wanting to spend more time with family) or ‘regular’ (e.g. reaching the state pension age). The analysis is based on SHARE data (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe), covers ten European countries and differentiates between two retirement cohorts (1994–2004 and 2005–2015) during which the policy shift took place.

At the individual level, we find that gender and socio-economic status correlate with retirement voluntariness. At the company level, the sector of employment and job tenure also show an association with retirement voluntariness. The results indicate that, between the two cohorts, the share of those who experience their retirement as ‘regular’ has increased, while the share with ‘involuntary’ retirement has decreased. However, these shifts differ by educational groups, with a stronger increase of voluntary retirement for those with high education, suggesting a rise in social inequalities in retirement-transitions, likely owing to an accumulation of (dis)advantages over the lifecourse.

‘Living well’ is an important concept across national dementia strategies. Qualitative research has contributed to understanding of living well for people with dementia. Longitudinal qualitative approaches, though fewer, can explore potential changes in accounts of living well, psychological coping and adapting to dementia, and if/how people with dementia maintain continuity in their lives. This longitudinal qualitative study aims to gauge what is important for ‘living well’ with mild-to-moderate dementia and whether this changes over time in a group of older people with mild-to-moderate dementia living at home. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews with 20 people with dementia from the IDEAL cohort study were conducted in 2017 and again one year later then thematically analysed. The overarching narrative was largely that of continuity and adaptation, with incremental not disruptive change. Continuing participation and meaningful occupation were important to maintaining living well over time; individuals pursued new as well as previous interests. As a key psychological coping strategy to support continuity in their lives, individuals emphasised their capabilities to maintain activities in spite of dementia, compartmentalising areas that had become more challenging. Maintaining social networks and accommodating changes in social relationships were also central to living well, including managing the psychological impacts of changes in spousal relationships. People in the earlier stages of dementia emphasise continuity and their capabilities, reporting change over time only in certain aspects of their lives. However, small, incremental changes in their social relationships and opportunities for meaningful occupation may still afford key areas for supporting capability to ‘live well’.

Recent debates on age-dissimilar romantic relationships have centred on newly formed relationships, asking whether they reflect shifts towards more equal and individualistic love, or more malleable and self-determined understandings of age. Yet, in a global context where age dissimilarities are shifting and populations are ageing, little attention has been paid to how these understandings of love and age might play out in couples’ futures, particularly in relation to care and gender. While median marital age differences have decreased in Australia and worldwide in recent decades, there has been a rise in larger gaps. In such cases, one partner will reach old age markedly earlier than the other. This article therefore examines how age-dissimilar couples imagine their futures together. It draws on 24 in-depth interviews with women and men in heterosexual, age-dissimilar relationships in Australia, with age differences of seven to 30 years. Talking about their love relationships, interviewees – especially those in older woman relationships – avoided discussing ageing or described age as meaningless or relative. For them, they argued, appearance, experience, personality and felt age took precedence over chronology. Conversations with older interviewees exposed gaps in this logic, however, and gendered anxieties about old age and responsibility for care. Interviewees’ discussions of their futures thus highlighted tensions in understandings about age(ing), gender, care and love. Love was thought to transcend age differences and facilitate care responsibilities for some but not others. Utilising the concepts of democratisation, responsibility and gendered double standards of ageing and care, this article complicates conceptions wherein age dissimilarities are seen to typify the growing meaninglessness of age and gendered equality of love.

The concept of security, with its various dimensions, is fundamental to the field of ageing literature. However, feeling safe does not always equate to feeling at ease or being comfortable with people and places. Building on these premises, this article presents and analyses the factors involved in the perception of security and social safeness among women ageing in a top-down co-housing project and a nursing home in Italy. This country has one of Europe’s oldest populations, and the ageing population phenomenon is particularly notable in the Veneto region. In response to changing demographics, the search for alternative housing solutions and associated innovative paradigms of care and support has been gaining ground in recent years. Our study analysed data gathered from women who decided not to age in place. Fieldwork was carried out in one of the most densely populated provinces in the Veneto region during 2022 and 2023. The methodology was qualitative and consisted of in-depth interviews, a focus group and a workshop. Participants were 11 self-sufficient older women, aged 75 and over, living in these facilities. Among the elements that contribute to the perception of social safeness, the following stood out: material and structural factors, physical and emotional factors, relational factors and factors linked to independence and autonomy. Finally, the article stresses the need to study social safeness in greater depth, as it could become a new line of social science research capable of providing relevant information on the housing needs of older adults.

In the UK, when people with dementia are regarded as a risk to themselves or others, they are usually admitted compulsorily onto a National Health Service dementia inpatient ward, under the 1983 Mental Health Act. Remarkably little is known about the experiences of informal (family) carers supporting these individuals with dementia during their stay; this study is the first to explore those experiences.

Qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 12 informal carers with a family member admitted to an NHS dementia inpatient ward in the Northwest of England were analysed. The reflexive thematic analysis identified 4 main themes – (1) Initial adjustment and transition; (2) Becoming a visitor; (3) Receiving support and sharing expertise; (4) Planning for the future – and 15 sub-themes. Some carers experienced traumatic events in the build-up to admission and felt overwhelmed, worried, guilty and stressed during the stay, whilst others felt relieved that the person with dementia was no longer at home. The ward environment was regarded as safe and practical, albeit ‘stark’. Staff care was seen as high-quality; carers appreciated support, when available, from a range of care staff and carer groups. Communication with ward staff was reported as ‘mixed’; positives were receiving information leaflets, attending ward rounds and having informal conversations with staff. Carers often felt excluded from future care planning.

Preliminary suggestions for practice and policy recommendations include enhanced informal carer support during the admission, improved communication with ward staff, making the ward environment accessible and ‘homely’, and explaining staffing levels prior to admission.

With society’s growing diversity, it is increasingly crucial to comprehend the care needs of older migrants with dementia and their informal carers. This study explores the experiences of informal carers of older migrants with dementia using professional care, focusing on the participants’ perceptions of whether the delivered professional care meets the needs of the informal carer and their family member with dementia. Purposive sampling identified 17 informal carers living in Belgium and caring for older first-generation labour migrants from Italian and Turkish backgrounds. In-depth interviews were conducted and inductive data were analysed using the Qualitative Analysis Guide of Leuven, a method inspired by the constant comparative method. The findings are presented through composite narrative vignettes. The data analysis revealed six predominant themes: (1) Informal carers are hoping for engagement from professional care providers, to create together a care alliance for the older person with dementia; (2) Informal carers experience cold substandard care provision from professional care providers towards their loved ones; (3) Informal carers need to feel a sense of home to be able to trust the professional care providers; (4) Informal carers experience culturally insensitive care practices by professional care providers; (5) Informal carers struggle with the responsibility of informal care-giving in the context of today’s world; (6) Informal carers experience the cumulative mental load of care-giving. Informal carers of older migrants with dementia face a cumulative mental burden through limited adapted-care options, cultural insensitivity in services, care-giving duties and additional tasks to bridge the professional care gaps.

Average lifespans for people with physical disabilities are increasing; yet there is limited knowledge about their perceptions of what it means to age well. The criteria for Rowe and Kahn’s influential model of successful ageing effectively preclude people ageing with a long-term disability. Several authors have attempted to develop more-inclusive models of successful ageing. The aim of this study was to explore what successful ageing means for people ageing with either spinal cord injury (SCI) or post-polio syndrome (PPS). We used an emic-based methodology, and recruited from Australia 17 participants aged 40–78 years. Nine participants (one male, eight female) had acquired poliomyelitis in childhood and experienced PPS, and eight participants (seven male, one female) had acquired an SCI 15 or more years ago. We used semi-structured interviews to elicit participants’ views on the dimensions important to ageing successfully with a disability, and analysed the transcripts using inductive thematic analysis. We identified eight themes, which related to: (1) maintaining physical health, (2) retaining cognitive abilities, (3) a sense of safety and security, (4) being treated with fairness and respect, (5) positive psychological resources, (6) independence and autonomy, (7) social engagement and participation in community and (8) a sense of purpose. We used the findings to construct a multi-dimensional successful ageing model for those ageing with SCI or PPS. The model includes insights from lay perspectives that further illustrate the role broader society plays in supporting or hindering individuals to age successfully, and has implications for health-care and government services.

Longitudinal studies can provide insights into how family members negotiate the caring role and carer identity over time. The analyses of the longitudinal, qualitative interviews on ‘living well’ with dementia from the IDEAL cohort study aimed to identify the shifting, embedded narratives of family members of people with dementia as they negotiated the caring role and carer identity over time. Twenty semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with family members of people with dementia and 14 were repeated one year later; these interviews were analysed using cross-sectional and longitudinal thematic and structural narrative analyses. Longitudinal, interrelated themes, including the care needs and decline of the person with dementia, relationship change and variable service support, framed the narrative types of family members. Six shifting narratives, apparent as dominant and secondary narrative types, characterized negotiating the caring role over time: absent/normalizing, active role adoption / carer identity, resistance, acceptance and resignation, hypervigilance/submergence and role entrapment, and foreshadowed future. The presence or absence of a carer identity was also evident from interviewees’ accounts, although, even where family members were overburdened by the caring role, they did not necessarily express a carer identity. Rather than considering transition into a carer identity, hearing different narratives within the caring role is important to understand how family members experience caring, whether they see themselves as ‘carers’, and when and how they need support. Timely and continued post-diagnostic support, where different caring narratives are recognized, is needed, as well as international initiatives for carer identification.

This study explores retirement processes. State pension age is gradually increasing in many countries, including the Netherlands. The traditional retirement pathway where individuals have a cliff-edge transition from a full-time job with a permanent contract to full retirement appears to be applicable to an ever-smaller group of employees. Hence, more recently, ‘retirement’ is viewed not as a single transition out of the labour force but rather as a process determined by several intertwined contractual and financial aspects of the labour market. Research has hardly ever combined labour market aspects such as employment security (type of employment contract), financial security (income), work-time arrangements (hours worked) and social protection (receipt of pension and other benefits). This study aims to address this knowledge gap using register data from Statistics Netherlands and treating the status of individuals before and immediately after retirement as a latent variable (late employment quality [LEQ]) measured by several indicators: contract type, contractual working hours, self-employment, income and different types of benefits including pension. We follow older workers between 2008 and 2019 for at least four years before and two years after state pension age and derive trajectories of LEQ using a mixture hidden Markov model. The results indicate several avenues: ‘retirement with medium/high pension’, ‘from non-employment to low pension’, ‘eventually partial retirement’, ‘steps from employment to low pension’ and ‘alternating work and non-work’. It seems to be the case that most older workers in the Netherlands cannot simply be categorised as having either cliff-edge transitions or atypical retirement.

Next of kin play a vital role in the informal care of older relatives in long-term-care facilities (LTCFs). However, finding a sustainable balance between everyday commitments and caring for their loved ones can be demanding, and there is a need to explore new ways to support their caregiving efforts while prioritising their wellbeing. Digital communication technologies have shown promise in enabling meaningful social interactions between older adults and their families, yet their potential to foster connections in LTCFs remains understudied. This study explores the efficacy of a communication technology called Komp in facilitating meaningful connections between next of kin and older relatives in LTCFs. It utilises Norwegian data from all public nursing homes in Oslo municipality to assess whether Komp can facilitate social contact between nursing home residents and their next of kin, and if the use of Komp impacts the next of kin’s experience of satisfaction with this contact. Based on 238 next of kin, this study uses two data sources: (1) survey data collected from all next of kin, in three waves, and (2) a highly detailed weekly data stream from each Komp device. These sources are combined and analysed using multiple regression analysis. The results generally show a positive and significant relationship between use of Komp and increased social satisfaction, indicating that Komp can serve as a valuable tool to help next of kin maintain social bonds with older relatives in LTCFs.

Despite the universal social policies of Sweden’s welfare state, recent decades have seen decreasing public benefits and increasing socio-economic disparities, affecting the financial wellbeing of older adults and their younger family members. This repeated cross-sectional study explores the development of intergenerational financial transfers in Sweden over the past two decades, examining transfers involving older parents and their children and grandchildren, and patterns related to gender and social class. It utilises data from the Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old, from 2002 to 2021, along with descriptive statistics and logistic regression models, to study shifts in donor–receiver proportions and gender/social-class disparities. The findings revealed that approximately one in four parents provided financial support to younger generations, while very few received such support. Downward financial transfers increased over time, with growing focus on grandchildren. No significant gender differences in providing were identified; however, women’s contributions increased in frequency and amount, compared to previous cohorts of women. Men’s contributions remained relatively stable over time. Parents in higher social classes were more inclined to provide financial support than parents in lower classes; this difference grew over time. Additionally, parents in higher social classes more frequently provided higher amounts than their counterparts. In conclusion, this study underscores changing gender and social-class patterns in financial contributions made by parents to their children and grandchildren in contemporary Sweden. Understanding these levels and subgroup differences is crucial for shaping policies and mitigating the potential growth of socio-economic inequality in future generations.

High-quality intergenerational relationships positively influence cognitive functioning in older parents. However, there is insufficient information on how they shape the trajectories of mothers’ and fathers’ cognitive functioning decline in multi-child families, owing to the complexity of intergenerational relationships, such as multi-dimensional and ambivalent natures and differences varying across children. Drawing on three waves of data (2014, 2016 and 2018) from a nationally representative survey – the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey (N = 9,404) – we used the k-means clustering method to discern patterns of intergenerational relationships in multi-child Chinese families, as well as the growth curve models, to examine the associations between parent–child relationship types and the trajectories of older parents’ cognitive functioning. Five types of intergenerational relationship were identified: alienated, stressfully interacting, independent, beneficially interacting and tight-knit. We then investigated the associations between trajectories of cognitive functioning and the most distant type, the closest type, and the heterogeneity of parent–child relationships across multiple children. The most distant parent–child relationship was significantly related to cognitive functioning trajectories with the alienated (tight-knit) type associated with the lowest (highest) levels of cognitive functioning and the fastest (slowest) cognitive decline. However, the closest parent–child relationship was not significantly related to cognitive functioning trajectories. Moreover, greater variation in relationships with multiple children was correlated with lower levels of cognitive functioning and faster cognitive functioning decline. These associations were stronger among mothers than fathers. This study provides new insights into the potentially protective role of intergenerational relationships in older parents’ cognitive functioning and their gendered differences.

Considering the demographic shift towards an ageing population, the financial threats that arise after retirement and the ongoing debates about extending working life, it is crucial to thoroughly understand the impact of retirement on the health of older individuals. This article presents a systematic review conducted according to the standards established by PRISMA statement CINAHL and APA PsycArticles databases by EBSCOhost, Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science, for longitudinal studies published between 2013 and 2023. The aim of the review was to synthesise evidence of the effects of retirement on health, for example physical functioning, morbidity or mortality. From 1,757 records, 19 papers were included. Twelve longitudinal studies consistently linked retirement to declining physical function, increased disease prevalence and higher all-cause mortality risk. The evidence did not show a clear conclusion on biomarkers as health outcomes. The article identifies five explanatory mechanisms behind the retirement–health relationship: working conditions, retirement types, financial security, lifestyle changes and social participation. Retirement can have some adverse effects on health; however, the health consequences of withdrawal are likely to vary by pre-retirement factors. These findings carry implications for the current debate of extending working life and the social security system for older people.

Discourses and how they construct policy ‘problems’ delimit ‘solutions’, including the scale, shape and structure of services. This article discusses how the adult social care sector in England is presented as a policy problem, with the greater use of technology the associated ‘common-sense’ solution – both to the ‘crisis of care’ in a society with an ageing population and as a means to stimulate the national economy. It draws upon critical discourse analysis to examine English policy documents and other government texts published between 2020 and 2022. In doing so, it de-objectivises and de-universalises semiotic claims around care and technology and explores omitted alternatives. In discourse, ageing and care are framed as both problems to be solved and opportunities for entrepreneurship. Technologies are bound together with efficiency, with limited exploration of how use of the former necessarily entails the latter. Technology is, in addition, presented as agentic, inevitable and unassailable, closing off debates as to whether other, less seemingly ‘innovative’ options for reform and change could entail more favourable outcomes. Discourse thus limits the role of the state to stimulating the environment required for technological advancement.

Although many positive social changes have been achieved over the past 30 years, members of LGBT, Sistergirl and Brotherboy communities continue to encounter negative experiences with health and ageing service provision. In this article, 232 responses from a survey exploring ageing and care concerns and preferences among LGBT, Sistergirl and Brotherboy communities in Australia were analysed using chi square analysis. The largest proportion of participants were aged 55–64 years (26.4%, n = 61), with the majority residing in metropolitan regions (67.7%, n = 154). The three most frequently selected gender identities were cisgender woman (40.1%, n = 93), cisgender man (39.7%, n = 92) and non-binary (11.6%, n = 28). The three most frequently selected sexual orientations were gay (39.2%, n = 91), lesbian (32.0%, n = 77) and queer (17.7%, n = 41). While many concerns demonstrated no age-related differences, concerns regarding physical differences, respect and inclusion, finances and standard of care reflected higher levels of concern among younger participants compared with older participants. Preferences for receiving information reflected a desire for LGBT, Sistergirl and Brotherboy communities-specific resources for options for support from participants approaching retirement, that is, aged 55–64 (x2 (5, n = 178) = 11.08, p = 0.050); less desire for information provided through public health service services among participants aged 65+ (x2 (5, n = 178) = 15.58, p = 0.008); and variation in preferences regarding supports provided by LGBT, Sistergirl and Brotherboy communities. Results suggest that different generations of LGBT, Sistergirl and Brotherboy members may prefer to receive services and information in different ways. Further research is needed to understand how concerns, expectations and preferences are influenced across generations.

People living with dementia are often presumed to have no agency or capacity to act in the social world. They are often excluded from participating in research while research methodologies may not capture their embodied engagement with people and places. Yet, like everyone, people with dementia can express their agency in nuanced ways, for example, through emotions or embodied expression. In the conceptual framework discussed here, nuanced agency is conceived as consisting of non-deliberative elements (embodied, emotional, habituated, reflexive and intersubjective) and deliberative elements (choices or decisions and facilitative). Although people with dementia have been found to benefit from gardens with their sensory appeal, how they experience gardens is not well understood. This critical interpretive synthesis aims to explore how people with dementia experience nuanced forms of agency and citizenship in gardens. A conceptual framework of agency was developed to address the aim and support the analysis. Analysis of the 15 included studies highlighted the value of the conceptual framework in identifying a wider and more granular array of nuanced agency expressed in embodied form and through dialogue. This included expressions of intersubjective and facilitative agency that informed opportunities for people with dementia to experience relational citizenship socially in communal garden settings. These findings suggest an opportunity for researchers to explore the embodied agency of people living with dementia more comprehensively by applying theoretical concepts of agency. Further testing of the framework’s utility for guiding collection and analysis of primary data involving people with dementia in garden settings is recommended.

Extant literature shows that small conversations with strangers can help improve individuals’ wellbeing while reducing feelings of loneliness. Nevertheless, previous studies on talking to strangers tend to focus on young participants in controlled experimental settings, leaving a gap in understanding older adults’ experiences and their likelihood of adopting talking to strangers as part of their daily healthy ageing practices. Considering the problem of worsened social isolation and loneliness among older people during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is even more important to include them in the promotion of social inclusion through micro-conversations with strangers. To understand older adults’ attitudes and experiences of talking to strangers, this study interviewed 19 older people based on their trial of talking to strangers over a three-month period. Findings reveal that their willingness and confidence varied by age and gender, with retired individuals being more active in engaging with strangers. Time constraints and lack of self-efficacy were identified as barriers, particularly among those still working or with caregiving responsibilities. Rather than personal gains, the act of kindness towards others was emphasised as the key motive. These insights are valuable for policy makers and organisations supporting older people’s wellbeing, highlighting the potential for older individuals to serve as conversation initiators, promoting mutual kindness and wellbeing in communities.