Coexisting Disadvantages in later Life: Demographic and Socio-Economic Inequalities
Number of Authors: 32017 (English)In: Journal of Population Ageing, ISSN 1874-7884, E-ISSN 1874-7876, Vol. 10, no 3, p. 247-267Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
In this study, we aimed to identify which of certain demographic and socio-economic groups in the oldest part of the population that have an increased probability of experiencing simultaneous disadvantages in different life domains - here termed coexisting disadvantages. To do so, we compared analyses of coexisting disadvantages, measured as two or more simultaneous disadvantages, with analyses of single disadvantages and specific combinations of disadvantages. Indicators of physical health problems, ADL limitations, psychological health problems, limited financial resources, and limited social resources were included. We used nationally representative data from 2011 on people aged 76 and older in Sweden (n = 765). Results showed that coexisting disadvantages were associated with specific demographic and socio-economic groups, particularly certain marital status groups. Moreover, the differences between the demographic and socio-economic groups were only found for those who reported coexisting disadvantages, and not for those who reported only one disadvantage, which suggests that demographic and social factors become more important as disadvantages compound. Further, we analysed pairwise combinations of disadvantages. We found that different combinations of disadvantages tended to be associated with different groups, information useful from a social planning perspective since different combinations of disadvantages may imply different needs for help and support.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2017. Vol. 10, no 3, p. 247-267
Keywords [en]
Oldest old, Living conditions, Welfare, Inequality, Health
National Category
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine Gerontology, specialising in Medical and Health Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-153684DOI: 10.1007/s12062-016-9158-yISI: 000425329300004PubMedID: 28890741OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-153684DiVA, id: diva2:1188005
2018-03-062018-03-062025-02-21Bibliographically approved