We studied older people's perceptions of how they organise their out-of-home mobility and independent living when they face mobility restrictions, based on seven focus groups with older people (N = 28) from a suburb in Finland. This article provides an everyday life view of how the ability to move outside the home evolves through interdependencies between older people and their neighbourhoods, social relations and societal arrangements. Our findings show that supportive socio-material surroundings can provide older people with new ways to move outside their home despite mobility restrictions and new ways to organise their daily life with decreased mobility. In contrast, restrictive socio-material surroundings can lead to situations in which older people forgo certain out-of-home journeys and activities. The findings contribute to an understanding that organising one's daily life and out-of-home mobility is an act of interdependence. Policies promoting independent living in old age should recognise these fundamental interdependencies and support versatile ways of living rather than overemphasise activity and self-reliance. Based on older people's everyday life perspectives, both sides of the coin need to be considered: how to enable the out-of-home mobility of older people facing mobility restrictions and how to support them in managing and enjoying daily life with decreased mobility.

The ageing population has been rapidly growing over recent years. Theoretically, religion seemingly plays an important role in improving older people's health. This study examines whether believing in religion is related to better health conditions among Chinese older adults through a meta-analysis. Two researchers independently extracted the studies from a comprehensive database and grey literature search and evaluated their scientific quality. From the 3,777 potentially eligible papers, just 76 were selected. The pooled effect size detected no significant difference between Chinese religious and non-religious older adults’ overall health and wellbeing. Dividing the outcomes into different categories, religious older adults reported both a higher level of anxiety (Hedge's g = −0.392, 95% confidence interval (CI) = −0.494, −0.290; p = 0.004) and yet a higher level of happiness (Hedge's g = 0.342, 95% CI = 0.074, 0.610; p = 0.018). Having a higher proportion of females in the sample is related to a smaller effect size in overall health outcomes (β = −2.205, 95% CI = −3.800, −0.613; p = 0.007) and social support specifically (β = −4.660, 95% CI = −6.261, −3.058; p < 0.0001). This study is among the first to synthesise the quantitative evidence regarding health differences between older religion believers and non-believers in China. It calls for future studies investigating the pathways underlying the religion–health relationship.

In response to the rising financial pressure on old-age pension systems in industrialised economies, many European countries plan to increase the eligibility age for retirement pensions. We used data from Sweden to examine whether (and if so, how) retirement after age 65 – the eligibility age for basic pension – compared to retiring earlier affects older adults’ (between ages 70 and 85) cognitive functioning. Using a propensity score matching (PSM) approach, we addressed the selection bias potentially introduced by non-random selection into either early or late retirement. We also examined average and heterogeneous treatment effects (HTEs). HTEs were evaluated for different levels of cognitive stimulation from occupational activities before retirement and from leisure activities after retirement. We drew from a rich longitudinal data-set linking two nationally representative Swedish surveys with a register data-set and found that, on average, individuals who retire after age 65 do not have a higher level of cognitive functioning than those who retire earlier. Similarly, we did not observe HTEs from occupational activities. With respect to leisure activities, we found no systematic effects on cognitive functioning among those working beyond age 65. We conclude that, in general, retirement age does not seem to affect cognitive functioning in old age. Yet, the rising retirement age may put substantial pressure on individuals who suffer from poor health at the end of their occupational career, potentially exacerbating social- and health-related inequalities among older people.

Household entrepreneurship is a basic unit of entrepreneurial activity, and a crucial aspect of connecting personal and social wellbeing. This study examines the relationship between the proportion of elderly family members and household entrepreneurship. This study also assesses the mediating effect of the middle-aged generation's support to their parents and the moderating effect of the parents’ support with respect to the proportion of elderly family members and entrepreneurship. We use data from the China Family Panel Studies. We adopt the instrumental variable method to deal with endogeneity, robustness and credibility of the estimation results. The results show that a higher proportion of elderly family members impedes household entrepreneurship. Moreover, the financial and instrumental support provided by the middle-aged generation to their parents significantly mediates the relationship between the proportion of elderly family members and household entrepreneurship. In turn, parents’ financial support to the middle-aged generation moderates the focal relationship; however, parents’ instrumental support does not moderate the focal relationship. These findings emphasise the need to develop a comprehensive social security network for older adults that will indirectly promote household entrepreneurship, and improve personal and social wellbeing.

A grounded theory approach, consistent with the work of Strauss and Corbin, was used to undertake semi-structured interviews with 17 older people, to explore their experiences of living in a care home, during the four- to six-week period following the move. Purposive sampling was initially adopted, thereafter, theoretical sampling was employed to recruit individuals identified by care managers within older peoples’ community teams and care home managers within a large Health and Social Care Trust in the United Kingdom. Consistent with grounded theory methodology, data collection and analysis occurred simultaneously. Constant comparative analysis underpinned data analysis and data management techniques. Data analysis revealed five distinct categories that captured these experiences. These were: (a) wanting to connect – ‘I am so lost here’, (b) wanting to adapt – ‘Well mentally you have to make the best of it’, (c) waiting for assistance – ‘it's a frustration for me’, (d) ‘waiting on the end’ – I am making no plans’ and (e) wanting to re-establish links with family and home – ‘I love getting home and I like getting out to the town’. Together these five categories formed the basis of the core category, ‘Waiting and Wanting’, which encapsulates the initial adaptation experiences of the men and women in the study. Findings indicate that individuals were dependent on others to create a sense of belonging, independence and wellbeing. Moreover, risk aversive practices were perceived as a threat to individuals’ independence and autonomy. Recommendations include the need to amend policy and practice for the development of a bespoke induction programme for each resident facilitated by a senior member of the care home staff working in partnership with individuals and families, in addition to the health and social care team, to support a more positive transition for new residents, relatives and care home staff.

For many years, dementia care has been dominated by the standard medical approach, in which dementia is treated mainly with drugs, such as anti-anxiety, antidepressant and anti-psychotic medications. With the aim of seeking effective treatments for patients with dementia, over the last years, several contributions have criticised the pervasive use of drugs for the management of behavioural and physiological symptoms related to dementia, proposing personalised interventions aimed at supporting patients and their relatives from diagnosis until death. With particular reference to long-term settings, in this work, we aim at understanding the organisational implications of three types of interventions (labelled supportive care interventions – SCIs) that have characterised this shift in dementia care: person-centred, palliative and multi-disciplinary care. Conducted by following the integrative review method, our review underlines how SCIs have controversial consequences on the quality of care, the care-givers’ quality of life and cultural backgrounds. After an in-depth analysis of selected papers, we offer some considerations about the implications of SCIs for long-term care organisations and future research directions.

Across literature on loneliness and ageing, little attention is given to the intersection of ageing, sexuality and masculinities, and how this shapes the social connections of older men. We report findings from a qualitative study of older men's experiences of loneliness and social participation, focusing on perspectives from two groups who are single and/or living alone: men identifying as (a) heterosexual and (b) gay (not bisexual). We present findings generated from semi-structured interviews with 72 men residing in England (65–95 years). We discuss three prominent themes: (a) loneliness, loss and social dislocation; (b) diverging life-events that trigger loneliness; and (c) variations in visibility and exclusion across social settings. Embedded within men's descriptions of loneliness is a running theme of social dislocation that speaks to a wider sense of social separation and estrangement. Unique to gay men's accounts are the ways in which experiences of loneliness and social isolation are compounded by living in heteronormative social environments and their encounters with ageism in gay social settings. Older men's accounts convey anxieties about visibility and anticipated exclusion across social settings shared with other men that vary according to sexual identity and context. We discuss how sexuality and being single and/or living alone impact on older men's social participation as we seek to move beyond a heterocentric understanding of loneliness.

Population ageing and discourses on healthy ageing have led to a growing interest in social dancing for seniors. While senior dance has been described as both common and contributing to good health, the fundamental connection between bodily and temporal dimensions has been fairly neglected. As a result, there is a risk of portraying dance among older adults as a general practice, while at the same time the senior dance's potential to shed light on relations between temporality and ageing is not utilised. Based on qualitative interviews with 25 women and eight men, aged 52–81, in Sweden, whose main leisure activity was dancing, this article sheds light on this knowledge gap by illustrating the pleasurable experiences of senior dance. The results illustrate that the pleasurable experiences of dancing can be understood as three different experiences of temporality: embodied experience of extended present, an interaction with synchronised transcending subjectivities and age identities with unbroken temporality. The results also highlight the central role that temporal aspects play in processes around subjectivities in later life, as well as the close connection between ageing embodiment and temporality. They also illustrate the ability of dance to create wellbeing, not only through its physical elements, but also through the sociality that constitutes the core of dancing. In light of these results, the article argues that the temporal processes relate to individuals’ diverse relationship with the world and that they therefore play a central role in subjective experiences of ageing.

Having grandchildren is known to reduce individuals’ labour supply. However, it is unclear whether there is a negative association between grandchild care provision and employment among grandparents. Moreover, we do not know how the magnitude of any association between the two activities may vary across countries characterised by different child-care policy regimes. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, this paper investigates the association between daily grandchild care provision and two employment outcomes for grandmothers and grandfathers aged 50–69: the probability of being employed and the average weekly working hours. Recursive bivariate models are used to account for the potential selection of grandparents with different unobserved traits into work and family care. Estimates are compared across four country groups characterised by different child-care policy orientations: optional de-familisation, service de-familisation, supported familism and familism by default. On average, across 20 European countries, grandparents looking after grandchildren daily are no less likely to work than grandparents who do not; however, employed grandfathers work eight hours less per week if providing daily child care. Evidence of a negative association between daily grandchild care and employment is strongest in countries with familistic approaches to child care, with no association in countries characterised by optional de-familisation. This suggests that public support to child care may help retain grandparents in the labour force.

Limited research has been conducted about ageing in place among older parents who co-habit with their ageing offspring with intellectual disability (ID). This study aims to explore which older parents would choose ageing in place together with their ageing offspring with ID instead of moving and what factors are associated with this choice. A face-to-face interview was conducted using the ‘housing pathways’ framework with older parents (⩾60 years) co-habiting with their ageing offspring with ID (⩾40 years) from two local authorities in Taiwan. In total, 237 families completed our census survey between June and September 2015. The results showed that 61.6 per cent of the participants would choose ageing in place with their ageing offspring with ID, while 38.4 per cent of the participants would stay in their previous place without their disabled children, move in with their other children or move to a nursing home. Logistic regression analyses revealed that parents who preferred ageing in place together with their offspring with ID were more likely to own a house (‘personal control’), have higher levels of life satisfaction (‘self-esteem’) and satisfaction with their current community (‘self-identity’), and have a lower level of social support than parents who chose another option. To meet the needs of older parents and their ageing offspring with ID, care and housing transitions should be considered as part of long-term care policy.