Despite numerous calls for intersectional research on Covid-19, including in the BMJ, we so far know virtually nothing about how these factors might be overlapping and interacting with each other to shape pandemic-related outcomes. We fully support action taken to limit physical interactions, maintain hygiene standards and restrict non-essential travel, and we understand that actions to contain and delay infection will require disruption to our everyday lives. The British Society for Research on Ageing (BSRA) is a scientific society (registered charity no. Globalization: the challenges for gerontology Creative Ageing SIG: String of Hearts Prisoners of space: How the COVID-19 lockdown is deepening inequalities in later life Dan Holman is based in the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield and is a Faculty Research Fellow for the Healthy Lifespan Institute. Policy and practice should seek innovative ways for people to visit their loved ones virtually, or across physical or spatial barriers. Recent events have made this task more pressing than ever. We note that policies identifying an arbitrary chronological age for restrictions of human liberties are out of line with approaches in other jurisdictions, including Scotland and Ireland. Please note that the views expressed on this blog are the views of individual members of the British Society of Gerontology, and do not represent the views of the Society, or any part of the Society. Please note that the views expressed on this blog are the views of individual members of the British Society of Gerontology, and do not represent the views of the Society, or any part of the Society. People below the age threshold will not be charged with the same level of responsibility for preventing the spread of COVID-19 and may falsely believe that they are not at high risk of serious illness or death. Such policies will be difficult to police, and enforceable sanctions are hard to imagine. The Technology & Ageing SIG aims to bring all academics, early career/researchers and doctoral students together who work across the area of Technology & Ageing. welcome to the british society for research on ageing (bsra) our history and purpose The BSRA was formed as the 'Club for Research on Ageing' by Professor Vladimir Korenchevsky (1880-1959) at some point prior to 1939 and as thus has a valid claim to be the world's oldest scientific society devoted to research into the biology of ageing. And endorsed by the following Members of the British Society of Gerontology as at 16th April 2020: Sheila Mackintosh, University of the West of EnglandDr. Reflections on the BSG2020 Creative Ageing SIG symposium, COVID-19 vs Social Isolation: the Impact Technology can have on Communities, Social Connections and Citizens. Serious health risks particularly identified for coronavirus are prevalent across the population. British Geriatrics Society. In the table below, which presents a simplified version of that in the paper, we have summarised five key areas of synergy with example applications: What does this mean in practice, and why is it important? Almost one in five people in their 60s have two or more of these conditions. Publishes research on geriatric medicine and gerontology. They may also ignore the specific needs of marginalised groups of older people, including those who have particular health conditions, live in long-term care settings, are homeless, or are imprisoned. Ageing & Society is an interdisciplinary and international journal devoted to the understanding of human ageing and the circumstances of older people in their social and cultural contexts. The research team comprises Prof. Miriam Bernard and Dr Jackie Reynolds from Keele, and Prof. Mo Ray from University of Lincoln. There is an urgent need for clear policies aimed at supporting people who live alone of all ages. Among them, arguments about targeting restrictions at older people have animated …, 1Research Fellow, Health and Wellbeing Strategic Research Area, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA. We are also in favour of providing tests for the wider population. Publications. To achieve this goal requires a clear focus on evidence-based practice, using high quality research. To expect otherwise is to ignore the interconnectedness of families and the behaviour of people. In particular, we call for the social and domiciliary care workforce to be fairly treated. ageism and stereotypes of older men vs. women.The transformation from ‘worn out’ older workers of the early twentieth century to the ‘productive ageing’ of the early twenty-first century (Macnicol, 2006).Shifts in the visual stereotypes of older women over time (Warren, 2018).The cultural turn in ageist stereotypes from physical limitations to cosmetic appearance, with a particularly severe impact on older women (Twigg, 2013). As such, it is an ideal resource for students and lecturers in the social and behavioural sciences, as well as for students and practitioners in health and social care. Publications Homepage. Here, rather than tell families to ignore each other, we need to offer rapid testing, advice and supplies (masks where useful for intimate care, eye protection, gowns, gloves, sanitisers, soap). Ageing & Society - The Journal. The first is social heterogeneity, or in other words, population diversity. Media, government and public health professionals should strive to use language that resonates, rather than obfuscates, how people identify in their everyday lives. Given the centrality of both mental and physical well-being, there is a need for clear guidance on what people can do to maintain and improve their physical and mental health while keeping physically apart from others. This poses dangers for people below as well as above the age threshold. Marjory Warren House 31 St John’s Square London EC1M 4DN. Read our international journal publishing refereed original articles and commissioned reviews on geriatric medicine and gerontology. Messaging about how to avoid catching and spreading coronavirus should apply to everyone irrespective of age. 2. It may be correct that age itself on average is presenting a risk for coronavirus even without other health conditions. If blanket measures are taken to quarantine older people when others in the population are not quarantined, this places additional burdens on families, communities and businesses, and causes harm to those individuals. Life course researchers have shown that ageing is unequal with respect to a number of key axes of dis/advantage such as social class, gender, and ethnicity – but what about the ways in which these axes of dis/advantage overlap and interact with each other? People employ agency to resist discrimination and shape their own identities across the life cycle, within given constraints. Please note that, by clicking subscribe, you are opting in to receive BSG Mail updates. Denying people the chance to see their friends and relatives where the physical and mental wellbeing of both depends on that contact, and where other forms of contact may well not be facilitated, is a most drastic curtailment of human rights and needs. Overwhelmingly, family members will provide hands-on care for one another. It might also suggest whether, and how, interventions or policies can be targeted at different intersectional subgroups, the identity-based factors associated with these subgroups that could help with targeting and tailoring interventions and policies, and the structural constraints that might inhibit the success of such interventions. Co-producing experiences of an intergenerational Stay and Play project through photo-elicitation. Tel: +44 (0)20 7608 1369. We call for them to be protected as front-line workers against this epidemic. Needing to spend more than a penny – the future of public toilet provision in an age-friendly London. BSRA funds research into the biology of ageing. Social and cultural processes and policy encounters provide the context for these experiences, shaping what is possible, and the attendant life chances. Wider testing is also essential to provide access to robust data that can be used for research and modelling to assist us now in responding to and containing the virus, and in preparing better for future pandemics. Intersectional patterning and its significance for unequal ageing varies by historical time and spatial context. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! This is a space for debate and discussion by the many academics, professionals and people with an interest in ageing issues that form the membership of the BSG. It is essential that we continue to foster generational and societal cohesion during the course of the pandemic. People in good health are especially likely to volunteer at older ages with almost a third of those in their early 70s doing so. Socially isolating in a large house with a garden, good internet connection and a steady income is a completely different experience to socially isolating in a tiny flat, with no internet and under financial stress. The launch will take place there at 4pm on Wednesday 5 th July. They will ignore entreaties to physically distance as they tend to their children, their spouses/partners and their parents and grandparents, knowingly taking risks as they do so. HARG presented a digital piece on ‘Ethical issues in self-funded social care: co-producing knowledge with older people.’ Please see video, with more information found below. Maintaining physical and, especially, mental health whilst keeping people safe and well is a priority. People change intersectional subgroups over the life cycle and could therefore be said to follow an ‘intersectional trajectory’. Its range includes research on human ageing an We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website.By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. We affirm the prime goal to control and limit as far as possible the spread of COVID-19. Special thought should be given to how people might connect with loved ones who live in care settings. People are affected by multiple forms of discrimination over the life cycle and according to historical time and spatial context. The British Society of Gerontology provides a multidisciplinary forum for researchers and other individuals interested in the situations of older people, and in how knowledge about ageing and later life can be enhanced and improved. While this is an issue that disproportionately affects people aged 75 and over, especially older women, it affects all age groups and generations. BSG Reports and Submissions. HARG recently presented at the British Society of Gerontology (BSG) Conference on ‘Ageing and Sustainability in a Time of Transitionon’ 1st-3rd July 2020. Visit us. The age-based messaging also risks pitting young against old. Evidence shows that being seen to be part of community life can act as a buffer against feelings of isolation, give people a sense of meaning in life, and protect against depression. In anticipation of these, we stress that it is not possible for clinicians to make moral judgments about the value of human life based on age. This is a statement from the President and Members of the National Executive Committee made on 20 March 2020 in relation to the unfolding political, policy and media rhetoric and government policy concerning age divisions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Women disadvantaged according to SEP and ethnicity were less able to mitigate the damaging effects of increases to the women’s state pension (Holman et al. Co-resident family members can also advocate for hospitalisation or hospital care if needed. It is axiomatic that the life course perspective is fundamental to understanding unequal ageing. We shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that we fully comply with the data protection laws and regulations. Research points to the fundamental importance of social connections for personal well-being and physical and mental health. While people at all ages can be vulnerable to COVID-19, and all can spread the disease, not all people over the age of 70 are vulnerable, nor all those under 70 resilient. Loneliness and social isolation are already intractable social issues that warrant thought and action about connectedness and support across all age groups and communities. In this unprecedented period, we call for urgent and ongoing data collection and rigorous analysis of social and economic inequalities, and of the impact of inequalities through this crisis on the living conditions of people, their mental and physical health, and mortality. BSG is a registered charitable company and is the professional organisation representing gerontologists in Britain. This 3-minute explainer video we produced on the topic of intersectionality and health offers a general overview: [Embed explainer video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwqnC1fy_zc]. Many people in this age group are fit, well, and playing an active role in society. In sum, there is a strong case for moving towards the integration of intersectional and life course perspectives, which holds exciting opportunities to bring new insights to unequal ageing and how to tackle it. Living alone is a separate issue that has not been adequately considered or addressed. Age and Ageing is a leading international clinical geriatric medicine journal. Despite the …, The scientific-political milieu of Covid-19 encompasses numerous fraught debates. Access journal. This should include using both old and new communication technologies, ranging from radio and TV to the internet and digital devices, to facilitate social connections between people of all ages. 1174127) which promotes research to understand the causes and effects of the ageing process. The second ingredient is social discrimination – sexism, ageism, racism, classism, and so on – which people are subject to in different ways depending on their own intersectional identity. The scientific-political milieu of Covid-19 encompasses numerous fraught debates. It would be a highly retrograde step if this progress was undone by policy measures that reinforce the view that all people over a certain age share a particular set of characteristics. British Society For Research on Ageing. Almost one million people over the age of 70 provide unpaid care, including one in seven women in their 70s. For many people with families who they love and with whom they live or who live within close proximity, it is anathema to leave them to be severely ill, self-care in that state, and potentially die alone. The BSRA encourages publication and public understanding of ageing research and holds an … Our objectives are fourfold: BSG Statements on COVID-19. We need to think about sustainable policies, perhaps staggering who can go out for what purpose and when, how many people can be at particular places at a particular point in time, and national and reliable delivery of hand sanitisers to food shops and pharmacies on entry and exit. While hermetically sealing an age-group from society is unrealistic [1], ongoing debate regarding “chronological quarantine” offers an … This is a statement from the President and Members of the National Executive Committee made on 20 March 2020 in relation to the unfolding political, policy and media rhetoric and government policy concerning age divisions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Older people participate in paid work, run businesses, volunteer, are active in civil society and the cultural life of communities, and take care of family members including parents, spouses/partners, adult children (especially those living with disabilities), and grandchildren. This is the topic of a new paper we have published in the European Journal of Ageing. Policy analysis of how policies discriminate based on both single and multiple axes of inequality at a time e.g. As well as health and social care workers, family and friends who will need to provide care to people who become unwell form the front line of society’s response to the pandemic and will need to be acknowledged and treated as such. Intersectionality has seen an explosion of interest, especially in the last 5-10 years. Each set of concepts has much to gain by synthesising the other; the opportunities for mutual enrichment are substantial. As a gerontologist I am regularly confronted with the way that, of all the prejudices, ageist stereotypes are the most …, The toilet on Gospel Oak station, where I used to pick up my grand-daughter after school, is OK. We need to find a way to allow people to walk or cycle to local shops, to take exercise (for themselves and their pets), and to wave at one another and make social connections while maintaining a safe distance and observing hygiene requirements, without being singled out or intimidated. Ageing Issues. We welcome people with any level of experience or interest to join us in addressing key issues in later life substance use, to progress understanding, and inform responsive policy and practice. This allows people to respond appropriately to the pandemic, ensuring that the right people isolate themselves at the right time. It draws contributions and has readers from many disciplines including gerontology, sociology, demography, psychology, economics, medicine, social policy and … The Ageing of British Gerontolog y is a two-year (2015-17) Leverhulme-funded project with the aim of critically examining the ways in which gerontological knowledge has developed and changed over the past 40 years. We also know that people can be lonely or socially isolated even when living with others. It is clear that physical distancing needs to happen across the whole population at once, and sensible rules for maintaining mental and physical health during this period need to be employed. Government messaging that people aged 70 and over are vulnerable due to their age runs the risk that other groups may not take seriously messages about the need to maintain physical distance from others and to self-isolate. This is a space for debate and discussion by the many academics, professionals and people with an interest in ageing issues that form the membership of the BSG. Recent studies suggest that young adults may be at greater risk of loneliness than older adults, with one in ten people aged 16-24 years being often lonely, compared to three per cent of people aged 65 and over (see Table 3). The core of our argument can be distilled into the following claim: the life course perspective needs to acknowledge the way in which axes of inequality – both at the level of population subgroups and systems of social discrimination – overlap and interact with each other; intersectionality needs to acknowledge the dynamic, reciprocal and temporal nature of social categories and attendant discrimination. We also welcome academics, researchers, and practitioners who are making a mid-career change to ageing studies. People of all ages, when staying at home or trying to distance themselves physically from others, remain members of families, friendship networks and communities. Joanna Cross, Freelance Consultant, BristolDr Bram Vanhoutte, Derby Research Fellow, University of LiverpoolEmeritus Professor Bob Woods, Bangor UniversityProfessor Holly Nelson-Becker, Social Work Division Lead, Brunel University LondonRobin Webster, Irish Centre for Social Gerontology , NUIGalwayDr Carol Maddock, Swansea UniversityProfessor Andrew King, University of SurreyDr John Woolham, King’s College LondonDr Sue Westwood, University of YorkRuth Winden, Director, Older Yet BolderBridget Penhale, University of East Anglia, NorwichDr Melanie Chalder, University of BristolDr Katharine Orellana, King’s College LondonDr Bethany Simmonds, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, The University of PortsmouthDr Chad Witcher, Senior Lecturer, School of Sport, Health and Exercise Science,                      University of PortsmouthDr Deborah Morgan, Senior Research Officer, Swansea UniversityDr Robin A Hadley, Associate Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityProf Rose Gilroy, Newcastle UniversityDr Anna Wanka, Goethe University Frankfurt am MainDr Lorna Warren, Senior Lecturer, University of SheffieldProfessor Julia Twigg, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy and Sociology, University of             Kent, CanterburyDr Jenny Inker, Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityDr Bernadette Bartlam, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Keele UniversityDr Suzanne Moffatt, Reader in Social Gerontology, Newcastle UniversityProfessor Malcolm Johnson, University of BathDr Michele Board Principal Academic Nursing Older People, Bournemouth UniversityDr Lucy Smout Szablewska, Durham University/independent researcherProf Karen West, University of BristolDr Bruce Davenport, Research Associate, Newcastle UniversityDr Malcolm J Fisk, De Montfort UniversityDeborah Gale, Intergen Design Leader, Encore Fellows UK & The Age of No RetirementDr. Testing becomes crucial, to know who has had the virus, who may be immune, and who may be able to visit in a safe way without danger. We cannot implement a policy that will severely weaken the physical and mental health of some age groups through isolation while others are more protected. Ageing & Society is an interdisciplinary and international journal devoted to the understanding of human ageing and the circumstances of older people in their social and cultural contexts. Aims & Objectives: This field has grown considerably over the last 10-15 years and it is vital that all those who are working and interested in this domain share their experiences, knowledge, skills with one another. With representatives from the …. © British Society of Gerontology. If physical distancing policies are to succeed, they need to take account of who people are, how they perceive themselves, how they behave, and their emotional needs. All measures should be implemented with an awareness of people’s need for social support and solidarity. We need to ask people to isolate as connected clusters rather than keeping loved ones apart. Contact us. With a simple message to older people who live alone that they must cut themselves off from others, we are also conveying the message that we expect them to become ill without care and even die. The life course has proved an incredibly rich framework for gerontology and focuses on social roles, life stages, transitions, age/cohort differences, cumulative dis/advantage and trajectories, whilst intersectionality centres intersectional subgroups, discrimination, categorisation and individual hetereogeneity. ageism in one policy and sexism in another.Policy contexts can be used to interpret individual outcomes or directly linked to micro data; cross-national panel data can be used for comparative research.Bécares and Zhang (2018) found that accumulated interpersonal discrimination has a negative impact on the mental health of older ethnic minority women.Dressel and Barnhill (1994) found that for African American grandmothers age was not seen as a key social identity given lifelong poverty, racism and sexism. It draws contributions and has readers from many disciplines including sociology, demography, psychology, economics, medicine, social policy and the humanities. As well as preparing policies for living through this pandemic, we need to think about death, and the potential for death rates not witnessed for generations in the UK. Ageing in Society was developed by the British Society of Gerontology to fulfil the need for an authoritative introduction to social gerontology. We urge the Government to reject the formulation and implementation of policy based on the simple application of chronological age. The British Society of Gerontology is the learned society representing gerontologists in the United Kingdom. Snorri Bjorn Rafnsson, Associate Professor of Ageing and Dementia, Institute for        Ageing and Memory (IAM), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of        West LondonDr Ann Leahy, Irish Research Council, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Maynooth UniversityDr Marianne Markowski, Member of the Centre for Chronic Illness and Ageing,                             University of Greenwich. This is a space for debate and discussion by the many academics, professionals and people with an interest in ageing issues that form the membership of the BSG. British Society of Gerontology and the Centre for Policy on Ageing Research Aims and Objectives Our overarching aim is to look critically at key developments and milestones in gerontological research, theoretical development, policy and practice, over the last 40-50 years. Ageing in Society was developed by the British Society of Gerontology to fulfil the need for an authoritative introduction to social gerontology. We also call on government and media organisations to be cautious in their use of language. As a population group, it is wrong and overly simplistic to regard people who are aged 70 and above as being vulnerable, a burden, or presenting risks to other people. Some common sense is also needed about so-called “self-isolation”. If you are a member of the BSG and would like to be added as a blog author, please contact info@britishgerontology.org. We should also be providing financial support for people faced with additional costs associated with managing daily life when family members have coronavirus, such as keeping the washing machine running and purchasing cleaning and hygiene products. We call for their high levels of skill to be recognised not only in the form of words, but also in terms of their pay, job security and working conditions. The official journal of the British Geriatrics Society. The programme explores "The Art of Ageing" and aims to reflect the diversity of gerontology. We need to have a much more nuanced and evolving discussion of this particular challenge. Professor Thomas ScharfPresident of the British Society of GerontologyNewcastle University, And Members of the National Executive Committee of the British Society of Gerontology:Professor Carol Holland, Professor in Ageing, Lancaster UniversityProfessor Andrew Newman, Professor of Cultural Gerontology, University of NewcastleProfessor Debora Price, Professor of Social Gerontology, University of ManchesterDr Tine Buffel, University of ManchesterDr Gemma Carney, Queen’s University BelfastDr Gary Christopher, University of the West of EnglandDr Paula Devine, Queen’s University BelfastDr Martin Hyde, Swansea UniversityDr Matthew Lariviere, University of SheffieldDr Hannah Marston, Open UniversityDr Wendy Martin, Brunel UniversityDr Charles Musselwhite, Swansea UniversityDr Tushna Vandravela, Kingston University. International journal publishing refereed original articles and commissioned reviews on geriatric medicine journal are key to healthy and. 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