About Age NI
Vision: to create a world in which
older people flourish
Mission: to improve and enhance
the lives of older people
What we do
Age NI delivers distinctive high impact services that support independence,
wellbeing and improve the quality of life of older people.
Advice
We provide confidential advice to 14,000 older
people, their carers and families every year
Services
We provide expert services to over 1,200 older
people every day
First Connect
First Connect offers emotional and practical
support at difficult times to people in later life
Policy
Our policy team influences government to
make Northern Ireland a better place to age
Age Sector Support
We support older people’s networks and
groups to increase their voice and grow
participation in the sector
Products & Services
We offer tailor-made products and services
designed with the over 50s in mind.
Rural Policy Work
•
Limited knowledge- No rural policy focus to date
•
Strategic Policy Advisers
 Health and Social Care
 Poverty and Social Inclusion
 Citizenship
•
Lack of rural policy focus challenged by Trustees, other
stakeholders
Questions
1. Should Age NI have a rural focus in its policy work?
2. If yes, what issues should Age NI prioritise, based on research?
3. How should Age NI focus its rural policy work?
4. How can academic research better inform policy development?
Process
•
Rural research
•
Rural roundtable
•
Continued engagement
•
Recommendations paper
Age NI Research
•
Research Questions - Is ageing in a rural area better or worse?
What are there unique predictors of life satisfaction in rural areas?
•
Methods- Quantitative analysis to pick up on any broader trends
•
Sample – Wave 1 English sample of Understanding Society,
longitudinal study based on a household panel design
Over 9000 in sample; 7000 urban, 2000 rural
•
•
Statistics- T-tests Broad differences in variables for physical
health, income, range of deprivation measures, mental well-being,
life satisfaction, contact with family
Hierarchical regression- Life satisfaction models for urban
and rural
Results
•
Broad differences physical health, mental health, life satisfaction,
income, perceptions neighbourhood belonging, contact with children etc
all better for rural dwellers
•
Difference negligible
•
No convincing evidence for an urban and rural dichotomy found.
•
BUT- Rural may not be a useful overarching category
Heterogeneity of rural landscape
•
Regressions- what predicts life satisfaction?
•
Controlled for ‘level of rurality’, year of move
•
Predictors of life satisfaction almost identical in rural and
urban environments
•
Significant variables: neighbourhood belonging, sex,
separated/ divorced, material deprivation, health
•
Predicted 25% variance urban, 22% rural
•
Self reports of health found to be the variable of greatest
importance in both samples- around 18%
Limitations
•
English sample
•
Proxy measures eg family contact,
health
•
Only 22-25% variance explained
Conclusions
•
Broad urban rural distinctions are not helpful
•
No convincing evidence that predictors of successful ageing
are different in rural and urban environments
•
•
•
Fuel poverty is an issue
Literature older rural males at risk of disengagement
Lack of research of farmers
Questions
Is rural aging unique?
Does it matter?
What do we need to focus on?
Thank You
www.ageni.org
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