Transcript Where have we got to and where are we going in Europe

Research on rural gerontology:
Where have we got to and
where are we going in Europe?
Professor Vanessa Burholt
Age NI Rural Ageing Workshop,
The Mount Conference Centre, 30th May 2013
Outline of presentation
International Rural Ageing Project
Progress over the last decade
Emerging areas for research in the next decade
International Rural Ageing Project 1997-2000
Subjects that urgently need additional study:
Demography of rural ageing
Health and access to services
Intergenerational relationships
A life-course perspective
Participation and the role of rural elders
Impact of technology
Evidence of polices working in rural settings
Publications in Europe and the Global North
Forecast
Areas 
Social, Economic,
Political
Technology
Climate Change
Agriculture
• Rural poverty in CEE
• Digital exclusion
• Disaggregation of excess
winter/summer deaths by
region type
• Trends in agriculture:
abandonment; sustainable
local production &
migration
• Privatisation of state
owned farms in Eastern
Europe
• Migration for food security
in Eastern Europe
Health &
Access to
services
• Future physical and mental
health needs
• Migrant workers caring for
rural elders
• Elder abuse in the absence of
monitoring care quality
• Telemedicine & Telehealth
• Smart housing
• Increase in serious
disease
• Response to emergencies
• Abandonment & service
provision decline
Relationships
• Changing patterns of families
•
New virtual social spaces
& relationships
• New surveillance and
interactive status
monitoring in caregiving
for frail elders
• Fuel cost impact on
transnational inter- and
intra- generational
relationships
• Abandonment & impact on
informal support
Lifelong
individual
development
• Employment/retirement
patterns
• Psychological resources
• Educational needs
• Distance learning
• Remote employment
opportunities
• Health promotion
• Role of older people as
‘thrifty’ mentors in
sustainability
• Retirement from agriculture
Participation
•
•
•
•
• Transport
• Security & fear of crime
• Social, collective activism
• Sustainable communities
• Choice in space and place
Policy &
Planning
• From recommendation,
through development to
implementation
• Rural planning
• Psychosocial impact of
change
• The bio-fuel debate
Framework for rural ageing research over the
Themes 
next decade
Demography
Leisure
Volunteerism
Physical activity
Local governance
Forecast
Areas 
Social, Economic,
Political
Technology
Climate Change
Agriculture
• Rural poverty in CEE
• Digital exclusion
• Disaggregation of excess
winter/summer deaths by
region type
• Trends in agriculture:
abandonment; sustainable
local production &
migration
• Privatisation of state
owned farms in Eastern
Europe
• Migration for food security
in Eastern Europe
Health &
Access to
services
• Future physical and mental
health needs
• Migrant workers caring for
rural elders
• Elder abuse in the absence of
monitoring care quality
• Telemedicine & Telehealth
• Smart housing
• Increase in serious
disease
• Response to emergencies
• Abandonment & service
provision decline
Relationships
• Changing patterns of families
•
New virtual social spaces
& relationships
• New surveillance and
interactive status
monitoring in caregiving
for frail elders
• Fuel cost impact on
transnational inter- and
intra- generational
relationships
• Abandonment & impact on
informal support
Lifelong
individual
development
• Employment/retirement
patterns
• Psychological resources
• Educational needs
• Distance learning
• Remote employment
opportunities
• Health promotion
• Role of older people as
‘thrifty’ mentors in
sustainability
• Retirement from agriculture
Participation
•
•
•
•
• Transport
• Security & fear of crime
• Social, collective activism
• Sustainable communities
• Choice in space and place
Policy &
Planning
• From recommendation,
through development to
implementation
• Rural planning
• Psychosocial impact of
change
• The bio-fuel debate
Framework for rural ageing research over the
Themes 
next decade
Demography
Leisure
Volunteerism
Physical activity
Local governance
Rural Ageing Research: Technology & demography
1. People over 65 are particularly vulnerable to digital exclusion
2. They are neglected by government policy and a youth-driven IT
industry (with some exceptions)
3. The way that older users feel about the internet will become
increasingly significant as they grow in number
Forecast
Areas 
Social, Economic,
Political
Technology
Climate Change
Agriculture
• Rural poverty in CEE
• Digital exclusion
• Disaggregation of excess
winter/summer deaths by
region type
• Trends in agriculture:
abandonment; sustainable
local production &
migration
• Privatisation of state
owned farms in Eastern
Europe
• Migration for food security
in Eastern Europe
Health &
Access to
services
• Future physical and mental
health needs
• Migrant workers caring for
rural elders
• Elder abuse in the absence of
monitoring care quality
• Telemedicine & Telehealth
• Smart housing
• Increase in serious
disease
• Response to emergencies
• Abandonment & service
provision decline
Relationships
• Changing patterns of families
•
New virtual social spaces
& relationships
• New surveillance and
interactive status
monitoring in caregiving
for frail elders
• Fuel cost impact on
transnational inter- and
intra- generational
relationships
• Abandonment & impact on
informal support
Lifelong
individual
development
• Employment/retirement
patterns
• Psychological resources
• Educational needs
• Distance learning
• Remote employment
opportunities
• Health promotion
• Role of older people as
‘thrifty’ mentors in
sustainability
• Retirement from agriculture
Participation
•
•
•
•
• Transport
• Security & fear of crime
• Social, collective activism
• Sustainable communities
• Choice in space and place
Policy &
Planning
• From recommendation,
through development to
implementation
• Rural planning
• Psychosocial impact of
change
• The bio-fuel debate
Framework for rural ageing research over the
Themes 
next decade
Demography
Leisure
Volunteerism
Physical activity
Local governance
Rural Ageing Research: Increase in serious
disease
Forecast
Areas 
Social, Economic,
Political
Technology
Climate Change
Agriculture
• Rural poverty in CEE
• Digital exclusion
• Disaggregation of excess
winter/summer deaths by
region type
• Trends in agriculture:
abandonment; sustainable
local production &
migration
• Privatisation of state
owned farms in Eastern
Europe
• Migration for food security
in Eastern Europe
Health &
Access to
services
• Future physical and mental
health needs
• Migrant workers caring for
rural elders
• Elder abuse in the absence of
monitoring care quality
• Telemedicine & Telehealth
• Smart housing
• Increase in serious
disease
• Response to emergencies
• Abandonment & service
provision decline
Relationships
• Changing patterns of families
•
New virtual social spaces
& relationships
• New surveillance and
interactive status
monitoring in caregiving
for frail elders
• Fuel cost impact on
transnational inter- and
intra- generational
relationships
• Abandonment & impact on
informal support
Lifelong
individual
development
• Employment/retirement
patterns
• Psychological resources
• Educational needs
• Distance learning
• Remote employment
opportunities
• Health promotion
• Role of older people as
‘thrifty’ mentors in
sustainability
• Retirement from agriculture
Participation
•
•
•
•
• Transport
• Security & fear of crime
• Social, collective activism
• Sustainable communities
• Choice in space and place
Policy &
Planning
• From recommendation,
through development to
implementation
• Rural planning
• Psychosocial impact of
change
• The bio-fuel debate
Framework for rural ageing research over the
Themes 
next decade
Demography
Leisure
Volunteerism
Physical activity
Local governance
Rural Ageing Research: Agriculture and
demographic trends
Forecast
Areas 
Social, Economic,
Political
Technology
Climate Change
Agriculture
• Rural poverty in CEE
• Digital exclusion
• Disaggregation of excess
winter/summer deaths by
region type
• Trends in agriculture:
abandonment; sustainable
local production &
migration
• Privatisation of state
owned farms in Eastern
Europe
• Migration for food security
in Eastern Europe
Health &
Access to
services
• Future physical and mental
health needs
• Migrant workers caring for
rural elders
• Elder abuse in the absence of
monitoring care quality
• Telemedicine & Telehealth
• Smart housing
• Increase in serious
disease
• Response to emergencies
• Abandonment & service
provision decline
Relationships
• Changing patterns of families
•
New virtual social spaces
& relationships
• New surveillance and
interactive status
monitoring in caregiving
for frail elders
• Fuel cost impact on
transnational inter- and
intra- generational
relationships
• Abandonment & impact on
informal support
Lifelong
individual
development
• Employment/retirement
patterns
• Psychological resources
• Educational needs
• Distance learning
• Remote employment
opportunities
• Health promotion
• Role of older people as
‘thrifty’ mentors in
sustainability
• Retirement from agriculture
Participation
•
•
•
•
• Transport
• Security & fear of crime
• Social, collective activism
• Sustainable communities
• Choice in space and place
Policy &
Planning
• From recommendation,
through development to
implementation
• Rural planning
• Psychosocial impact of
change
• The bio-fuel debate
Framework for rural ageing research over the
Themes 
next decade
Demography
Leisure
Volunteerism
Physical activity
Local governance