Living longer is not enough - it is the quality of that life which counts. According to Alan Walker, Professor of Social Policy at the University of Sheffield, UK, quality of life among older people is a major focus for research in Europe and a driver of social policy. Professor Walker, who is also Director of the European Research Area on Ageing (ERA-AGE), says there are eight main 'models' of quality of life, which focus upon health and functioning, satisfaction of needs and so on. In many ways, the quality of life needs of older people are not really different from those of other age groups - we all place value on health, socio-economic status, social networks, satisfaction of emotional needs and other key factors.
What research in European countries has shown is that sources of quality of life do vary between different groups of older people. In the UK, for instance, it's been shown that black people place more value on a good neighborhood than white people. These differences are worthy of further exploration. What emerges from the research are core components in quality of life. "Control and mastery are shown to be extremely important," says Professor Walker. Many studies show the importance of health but he urges people not to assume that illness and quality of life are mutually exclusive. "There is firm evidence that when people are ill, health becomes less important as a quality of life factor." In UK, research which began with older people's views, all participants put social networks as top priority, with economic factors much further down their quality of life list. Environmental factors - inside and outside the home - and leisure and mobility are also important in determining quality of life in older people, but there has been far less research in these areas. To read more about quality of life research, go to http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/projects/gop
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