Irish Centre for Social Gerontology (Scholarly Articles)

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What is the relationship between remote rural island place and perspectives on ageing of mid-life women?
(Masaryk University, 2023) Herbert, Alison
This article makes an original contribution to social gerontology and nissology by addressing a knowledge gap on contemporary gendered ageing in remote, rural island places. Drawing on empirical data gathered through in-depth interviews with 12 mid-life (48–69 years old) women living in the Uist islands of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, the relationship between ageing and remote rural island place is examined. Reflecting the participant narrative, this study discusses personal and place identities, while exploring place attachment and its relationship with gendered island ageing. This qualitative work adopts a lifecourse framework in order to acknowledge lived experience and cultural context from childhood to adulthood. Data were gathered and analysed through the prism of constructivist grounded theory, a methodology well placed for exploratory research of topics about which relatively little is known. Rich participant insight and analysis eschew island mono-culturalism, instead extending the discourse around remote rural island ageing as distinct from mainland rural ageing. Empirical data informs substantive theory, and fresh considerations on gendered mid-life ageing and remote island place are offered for academia. Findings from this study indicate diverse relationships between ageing and place amongst mid-life women living in the Outer Hebridean regions of North Uist, South Uist, Benbecula and Berneray. The connection between ageing and island place is experienced through place attachment, and is influenced by a range of geographic, demographic and socio-economic factors: primarily of relevance to this study is that of the natural environment. Perspectives on ageing reflect lived lifecourse experience and vary between those native and non-native to the Outer Hebrides; those who live with a partner or alone; those who have children and those child-free; and between those who enjoy socio-economic stability and those who do not.
‘In a hospital bed or … out doing Indiana Jones’: older Irish men's negotiations of cultural representations of ageing
(Cambridge University Press, 2022-03-09) O'Neill, Margaret; Ní Léime, Áine; Irish Research Council; Horizon 2020
There is a growing body of interdisciplinary literature on the representation and construction of ageing masculinities; however, there is a lack of specific analysis of older men's responses to cultural images of ageing. It is important to examine how cultural meanings around ageing may inform older men's lived experiences, an underexplored aspect of gender and social relations. This article does so and contributes to social gerontology and masculinity studies. It draws on focus group discussions and follow-up interviews or reflective diaries with seven men aged 65–73 years, varying in terms of relationship status and sexual orientation. The research forms part of an international study. It discusses the initial thematic findings, interpreted with reference to literature on ageing in culture and society, and hegemonic masculinities. The analysis identifies five primary themes: underrepresentation and stereotyping in media; diminishment of family role; transition from work to retirement; agency as opposed to confinement; and ageing as engaged and autonomous, illustrating some of the issues involved in the fluidity of masculinity over a lifetime. It highlights how representation can inform perceptions and experiences of growing older, and shows shifting masculine identities that negotiate hegemonic expectations as well as discourses about ageing. This study demonstrates how the participants’ modifications of hegemonic masculine and ageing identity interrogate and broaden these discourses, and opens avenues for future investigation.
Why older rural women in Ireland want to work: it's not all about the money
(Cambridge University Press, 2021-11-15) Herbert, Alison
This paper extends our understanding of employment and gendered rural ageing by examining the latent benefits of paid work for mid-life women in rural Ireland. Existing social gerontology literature deals extensively with manifest financial reasons to work, consequences of gendered pay and pension inequalities, work-related health con- cerns and the negative impacts to an extended working life for women. However, there is much less focus on the latent non-financial positive contributions that work provides for the older woman, especially within a rural context. Findings from this study show how mid-life women, even if in lower-paid, precarious work or in poorer health may choose to continue working into older age. Paid work provides not only financial auton- omy, but also temporal structure, life purpose, personal agency, social connectivity and a self-identity that most women are reluctant to relinquish to retirement. Meaningful work plays a critical role in the ageing experience of older rural women. A qualitative study of 25 women aged 45¿65 in Connemara, Ireland was undertaken from a lifecourse perspective and analysed using constructivist grounded theory to allow rich, novel narrative to emerge. Narrative from seven, who best represent all participants, are utilised in this paper. Conclusions suggest that the latent benefits of paid work are at least as, if not more important than financial gain for rural mid-life women.
Composite measures for assessing multidimensional social exclusion in later life: Conceptual and methodological challenges
(Springer, 2021-01-25) Keogh, Sinéad; O’Neill, Stephen; Walsh, Kieran
Although there are a number of approaches to constructing a measure of multidimensional social exclusion in later life, theoretical and methodological challenges exist around the aggregation and weighting of constituent indicators. This is in addition to a reliance on secondary data sources that were not designed to collect information on social exclusion. In this paper, we address these challenges by comparing a range of existing and novel approaches to constructing a composite measure and assess their performance in explaining social exclusion in later life. We focus on three widely used approaches (sum-of-scores with an applied threshold; principal component analysis; normalisation with linear aggregation), and three novel supervised machine-learning based approaches (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator; classification and regression tree; random forest). Using an older age social exclusion conceptual framework, these approaches are applied empirically with data from Wave 1 of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). The performances of the approaches are assessed using variables that are causally related to social exclusion.
What role does rural place play in the lives of mid-life women in Sweden and Ireland?
(MDPI, 2020-11-06) Herbert, Alison; Royal Irish Academy Charlemont Grant
Rural place is a significant influencer of the ageing and states of well-being experienced by older women. This paper extends existing knowledge on gendered rural place by examining its influence on mid-life (45–65 years) women in rural Sweden and rural Ireland. This paper also examines rural place identity, self-identity and the enhancement of the self, and the multiple pathways to place attachment at mid-life. Qualitative data were gathered in 2019 from ten women living in Sweden’s rural Värmland region, and in 2012–2013 from 25 women living in Ireland’s rural Connemara region. Adopting a social constructionist approach within a lifecourse framework, methodology was informed by constructivist grounded theory, using one-to-one semi-structured interviews. These distinct studies show both similarity and difference in rural place identity and self-identity among mid-life women, and highlight nuances around place attachment, the home, social relationships, and the natural environment. The data show a compelling need for a greater consideration of the critical and diverse role rural place plays in shaping women’s experiences of ageing and well-being both at mid-life and in older age.
Gendered impacts of extended working life on the health and economic wellbeing of older workers
(Cambridge University Press, 2019-01-31) Ní Léime, Áine; Ogg, Jim; Seventh Framework Programme
This special issue focuses on the gendered impact of extending working life on the health and economic wellbeing of older workers. Since research on this increasingly important area of policy interest is well developed in some countries and newly emerging in others, a special issue provides an opportunity for scholars to access a variety of methods across different national contexts. Extending the working life is today widely promoted by international policy organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and adopted by many governments as a necessary policy response to ageing populations. However, these policies have been introduced rather quickly without adequate consideration of their gender and health implications, and the papers here explore aspects of the often complex effects. Most European and other Western countries have implemented reforms to their public pension systems, mainly by increasing the statutory pension age and applying actuarial discount factors for earlier retirement, but also by closing special early exit pathways, tightening eligibility rules and lengthening the required duration of contributions (OECD, 2017). The structural rise in the labour force participation of women and the growth of service and public-sector employment have also contributed to extending working life (European Commission, 2018). As a result, employment rates in many European countries have risen steadily in the age group 55–64 over the past ten years although the trends vary considerably between men and women and between countries. These trends indicate that besides the institutional context, other macro-level factors also influence the extension of the working life. For instance, the global financial crisis that began in 2008 had a more or less severe impact on the employment prospects of older workers in different countries. In Spain, the employment rate among older men fell from 58.5 per cent in 2004 to 54 per cent in 2015 whereas during the same period it almost doubled in Germany among women – from 34 to 61.2 per cent (Eurostat, 2016). The increasing precariousness of employment also poses global structural challenges to employment prospects for older workers (Vosko, 2008; Standing, 2011; Ní Léime et al., 2015). At the meso-level, the attitudes of employers to maintaining or hiring older workers strongly influence the possibility and nature of their participation in the labour market (Gringart et al., 2005; Loretto and White, 2006; Kluge and Krings, 2008; Conen et al., 2012). At the individual level, factors such as health and disability, and family configurations play an important role in determining the timing of retirement as well as the experience of working longer (Ogg and Renaut, 2006; Berntson and Marklund, 2007; Brugiavini et al., 2008; Calvo et al., 2013). All of these factors interact and give rise to different trends between countries and different experiences of men and women within countries. Extended working life policies have been introduced apparently without adequate consideration of the gender implications for different groups of older workers – those in precarious and secure occupations, physically demanding jobs or sedentary jobs.
Working later in the USA and Ireland: implications for precariously and securely employed women
(Cambridge University Press, 2018-07-17) Ní Léime, Áine; Street, Debra; Seventh Framework Programme; State University of New York College of Arts and Sciences
Policies to extend working life (EWL) assume homogeneous workers face similar choices about working longer: this may be difficult for women, workers in physically onerous jobs or in low-paid precarious employment. Work-life trajectories are gendered; women interrupt employment and pension-building to provide care. There is occupational variation in capacities to prolong working lives: physically demanding jobs cause work-related health deficits. The precariously employed cannot contribute regularly to pensions and may face age discrimination. This research provides an inter-occupational and cross-national dimension to EWL research, comparing women teachers and health-care workers in the United States of America (USA) and Republic of Ireland. It documents intra-cohort distinctions that emerge among women when considering educational opportunities and occupational tracks expressed in lifecourse trajectories and accumulated capacities for extended work. Analysis draws on interview data from ten teachers and ten healthcare workers in each country, comparing the implications of EWL policies for women workers: in precarious versus secure occupations and occupations with different physical demands. It reveals work-life trajectories leading to poorer financial and health outcomes for older health-care workers, especially in the USA. Most women (regardless of occupation or country) opposed extending working life, with concerns ranging from health status and ability to work to the desire to have healthy years in retirement. The most important distinctions are between the occupational categories considered, rather than cross-national differences. Implications for national and work-place policy and research are considered.
How ageing and quality of life is influenced by social relationships: An exploration of rural midlife women in Ireland
(Fakulta Socialnich Studii, Masarykova Univerzita, 2018) Herbert, Alison
The aim of this article is to examine and contribute to the existing body of knowledge on gendered rural ageing by exploring, from a lifecourse perspective, the pivotal role of social relationships in shaping the quality of life for rural women at mid-life and beyond. Quality of life is examined in relation to the contributing factor of social relationships, and the article further explores concepts that intersect with social relationships to influence quality of life, including those of place, work, and health. As part of the examination of social relationships, complementary concepts of social inclusion and exclusion, social isolation, and loneliness are also explored. Findings from qualitative interviews with 25 women in rural Ireland aged 45 65 years, together with grounded theory analysis, suggest that the quality of life experienced by rural women at mid-life is primarily influenced by the presence, absence, and quality of social relationships experienced with family, friends, and other members of the community. Although a number of influencing factors contribute to perceived quality of life, meaningful social connectivity takes precedence. In considering life beyond middle-age, rural women envisage social inclusion as playing an increasingly vital role in shaping their ageing and their quality of life.
Care relationships, quality of care and migrant workers caring for older people. Ageing & Society
(Cambridge Journals Online, 2013) Walsh, Kieran; |~|Other|~|
Migrant care workers make a substantial contribution to older adult care in Ireland and the United Kingdom (UK). However, little is known about the relational aspects of care involving migrant care workers and older people. Given that the care relationship is closely linked to quality of care, and that the Irish and UK sectors are increasingly restricted by economic austerity measures, this lack of information is a concern for care practice and policy. Our paper explores the relationship between migrant care workers and older people in Ireland and the UK and draws on data collected in both countries, including focus groups with older people (N = 41), interviews with migrant care workers (N = 90) and data from a survey of and interviews with employers. The findings illustrate the complexity of the migrant care worker/older person relationship; the prevalence of need orientated, friendship and familial-like, reciprocal, and discriminatory interlinking themes; and the role of individual, structural and temporal factors in shaping these relationships.
Imagery and imaginary of islander identity: Older people and migration in Irish small-island communities
(2013) Scharf, Thomas; Walsh, Kieran; |~|Other|~|
This article examines the imagery and imaginaries of islander identity and makes an original contribution to the fields of gerontology and nissology. Drawing on data collected through in-depth interviews with 19 older residents of two small-island communities located off the island of Ireland, we address the central roles played by older people in creating and sustaining islander identities. Reflecting both public and private representations of islander identity, the article contrasts an island 'imagery' with an island 'imaginary', resulting in a complex 'imag(in)ery' of islander identity. We explore three main themes. To what extent do older residents of island communities perceive an 'imag(in)ery' of islander identity? In what ways do older islanders contribute to, substantiate or perpetuate the imag(in)ery of the islander identity? Are there alternative imag(in)eries of the islander identity for different groups of older people who live in island communities? Our analysis identified two imag(in)eries of islander identity. An historical islander identity was structured by the shared hardships and enforced self-sufficiency associated with residence in remote communities. Contemporary islander identities are founded on the positively perceived isolation of islands, an historical and cultural sense of belonging, frequent social interaction within cohesive, safe and secure communities, and a persistence of 'traditional' values. Older people were actively engaged in the (re)production of islander identity, such as helping visitors discover their island origins, producing traditional cultural artefacts, passing knowledge of culture down through the generations, and acting to maintain the civic life of the island community. Knowledge of local and traditional skills imbued some older islanders with the ability to perform island-specific symbolic rituals. Our study revealed subtle forms of differentiation between over-arching categories of island residents based on migration histories. In particular, older people's narratives revealed a hierarchy in relation to claims to islander status.
Ageing in changing community contexts: cross-border perspectives from rural Ireland and Northern Ireland
(2012) Walsh, Kieran; O'Shea, Eamon; Scharf, Thomas; |~|
Ongoing demographic, social, economic and cultural changes point to the dynamic and continually changing contexts of rural areas in Ireland and Northern Ireland. However, the influence of such changes on the lives of older people remains under-explored, particularly the question of how older people perceive, connect to and engage in their communities. Drawing on interviews and focus groups with indigenous and non-indigenous older people in three case-study sites in Ireland, Northern Ireland and a cross-border region, this article presents a comparative analysis of how changing community contexts have shaped the lives of rural-dwelling older people. The analysis focuses on four key areas: economic structure and service access; social relations and social cohesion; meanings and attachments; and community engagement. While the findings demonstrate that some dimensions of participants' lives were affected by complex economic and social changes, others dimensions were connected in a more significant way to life course and residential history and the desire to maintain community capacity.
Investigating the Reliability and Validity of the Waterlow Risk Assessment Scale: A Literature Review Clinical Nursing Research
(2011) Walsh, Breda; Dempsey, Laura; |~|
The aim of this review was to examine health literature on the reliability and validity of the Waterlow pressure sore assessment scale. A systematic review of published studies relating to the topic was conducted and literature was examined for its relevancy to the topic under investigation. Findings suggest that despite the availability of over 40 assessment tools, the Waterlow assessment scale is the most frequently used by health care staff. Research suggests that the Waterlow Scale is an unreliable method of assessing individuals at risk of pressure sore development with all studies indicating a poor interrater reliability status. Its validity has also been criticized because of its high-sensitivity but low-specificity levels.
Dying well: factors that influence the provision of good end-of-life care for older people in acute and long-stay care settings in Ireland
(2011) Casey, Dympna; Murphy, Kathy; Ní Léime, Áine; Larkin, Philip; Payne, Sheila; Froggatt, Katherine A.; O'Shea, Eamon; |~|
Aim: The aim of this study was to explore key stakeholders and direct care managers' perspectives on the current provision of end-of-life care for older people in acute and long-stay care settings in Ireland and to construct a model of these. Background: Although the literature reveals a number of factors that impact on end-of-life care, no study has examined staff perceptions concerning the provision of good end-of-life care for older people in an Irish context. Design: Grounded theory was used. Semi-structured interviews were employed to collect data between 2007-2008. Method: A purposive sample of 33 staff involved in the delivery of end-of-life care to older people working in six sites were selected. Results: Factors that influence provision of end-of-life care in Ireland were identified. The core category was 'dying well'. The potential to 'die well' was influenced by three factors, namely philosophy, culture and organisation of care, knowing the person and physical environment and resources. Conclusions: People are living longer consequently acute and long-stay care setting will increasingly become places where older people die. This study identified the factors that influence the provision of good end-of-life care for older people. Mobilising resources to ensure that these factors are considered is crucial to ensuring that regardless of where older people die in Ireland, they will receive the highest standard of care that nurses can provide. Relevance to practice: Understanding the factors that influence the provision of end-of-life care in acute and long-stay facilities in Ireland can help health professionals give more focused support and ensure that influencing factors are addressed so that older people at end-of-life receive quality end-of-life care.
Participatory action research with and within community activist groups: Capturing the collective experience of Ireland's Community and Voluntary Pillar in social partnershiprganisations in Ireland,
(SAGE Journals, 2012-07-18) Carney, Gemma M.; Dundon, Tony; Ní Léime, Áine; |~|IRCHSS|~|
This paper advances knowledge of roles played by Civil Society Organisations (CSO s) when negotiating the shift from boom time public expenditure to a programme of austerity. The study focuses on the Republic of Ireland, where CSOs occupy an important role in providing a voice for vulnerable citizens in corporatism. A cadre of national umbrella organizations formed the Community and Voluntary Pillar (CVP) of the national system of corporatist bargaining, named social partnership , for over a decade. During the economic growth of the Celtic Tiger era (1994-2007), social partners worked together to produce welfare reform mirroring Ireland s economic success. However the global financial crisis and subsequent austerity measures meant the country s model of corporatist-style partnership collapsed. This article connects CSOs adaptation to austerity measures when protecting the people behind the cuts to broader questions about co-optation of civil society through state-led policy making institutions.
The influence of nursing home residency on the capacities of low-dependency older adults
(Taylor & Francis, 2008-10-14) |~|
Objective: With the growing number of low-dependency older adults in long-stay care and the lack of categorisation of these institutions in the Republic of Ireland, it can be asked if such facilities are truly beneficial. This paper presents an explorative investigation of the influence of the nursing home environment on the capacities of low-dependency older adults.Method: The participants consisted of 50 community residents, as a control group, and 50 nursing home residents ranging in age from 65 to 95 years. The methodology was based on a triangulation of three data sources: a battery of cognitive, sensory, sensorimotor and psychological well-being assessments; a semi-structured participant interview; and an institutional questionnaire. Cluster analysis was then used to identify natural performance groupings within the assessment battery data.Results: There were two performance groupings within the dataset. Interestingly, two community residents were grouped with the majority of nursing home residents and six nursing home residents were grouped with the majority of community residents. The interpretation of the results was informed by the semi-structured interviews and the institutional questionnaires.Conclusion: Although causality cannot be attributed, findings indicate an association between the nursing home environment and the capacities of older adult residents.
Perceptions, preferences, and acceptance of information and communication technologies in older-adult community care settings in Ireland: A case-study and ranked-care program analysis
(Springer, 2010-10) Walsh, Kieran; Callan, Aoife; |~|
Abstract As the Irish population ages, the potential role of information and communication technologies (ICT) to assist with community care has gained prominence, as it has in many Western nations. However, little is known about how the perceptions and preferences of older people (as current care users) and the general population (as prospective care users) are constructed for ICT within the context of existing community-care provision and orthodox person-led care programs. This paper aims to address this deficit for the Irish context and contribute to international knowledge on this topic. Data for the research comes from four case studies of community care sites, three focus-group discussions and 60 face-to-face exploratory survey interviews (based around stated-preference scenarios) with a general population sample. Care preferences were rooted in orthodox forms of person-led care provision. Perceptions of technology, experience/familiarity with technology, and difficulty conceptualizing technology and need for technology assistance, are interconnected in how they influence ICT preferences and acceptance.More dominant, however, were micro- and macro-contextual factors associated with community care, namely (1) the state of the older adult community care sector; (2) the desire for person-to-person contact; (3) the context of place.
Perceived neighbourhood context, disability onset and old age
(Elsevier, 2011-10) Walsh, Kieran; |~|
National household and individual level data are used to explore perceived neighbourhood characteristics (PNC) and neighbourhood social participation (NSP) associations with later life disability onset (DO). The sample includes 3011 older people, with 8128 observations between 1995 and 2001. Three logistic regression models are developed. Model 1 - PNC is associated with DO (OR = 1.065). Model 2 - NSP is associated with DO (OR = 0.613). Model 3 - NSP does not buffer against PNCs in old age DO (OR = 1.063). With growing emphasis on community care, harmful and protective neighbourhood roles must be considered when developing policy and health initiatives for old age disability.
Negotiating User Preferences, Discrimination, and Demand for Migrant Labour in Long-term Care
(Oxford Journals, 2012-01) Walsh, Kieran; |~|
The restructuring of long-term care for older people has been marked both by the role of the market and by the role of migrant labor. This article develops the analysis of these processes at the microlevel of the provision of care. It draws on data collected as part of a cross-national comparative study on the employment of migrant care workers in residential care homes and home care services for older people in England and Ireland. The article examines, first, the ways in which divisions of race, ethnicity, and citizenship shape the preferences of service providers/employers and some service users as regards who provides care. Second, it examines how the institutional context of quasi-markets in long-term care shapes the negotiation of demand for migrant labor, the racialized preferences of individual users, alongside the rights of care workers to non-discrimination. It is argued that market-oriented policies for personalization, as well as for cost containment, raise implications for divisions of race, ethnicity, and citizenship in the provision of long-term care. At the same time, those divisions point to the limits of framing care in terms of the preferences of the individual as opposed to the social relations in which care is embedded.
'Protecting the most vulnerable' in an economic crisis: a participatory study of civil society organisations in Ireland
(2012) Carney, Gemma M.; Dundon, Tony; Ní Léime, Áine; |~|
This paper advances knowledge of how civil society organisations (CSOs) negotiate the shift from boom-time public expenditure to governmental austerity. The study focuses on the Republic of Ireland, where CSOs occupied an important role in providing a voice for 'vulnerable' citizens in corporatism for over a decade. The global financial crisis and subsequent austerity measures caused the country's model of corporatist-style 'social partnership' to collapse. The article connects CSOs' adaptation to austerity measures when protecting the 'people behind the cuts' to broader questions about co-optation of civil society through state-led policymaking institutions.
Participatory action research with and within community activist groups: Capturing the collective experience of Ireland's Community and Voluntary Pillar in social partnership
(SAGE Journals Online, 2012) Carney, Gemma M.; Dundon, Tony; Ní Léime, Áine; |~|IRCHSS|~|
The inclusion of community activists in policy planning is increasingly recognized at thehighest international level. This article shows how the use of Participatory ActionResearch (PAR) can present a deeper and more holistic picture of the experiences ofCivil Society Organizations (CSOs) in shaping national-level social policy. By utilizingaction-based research, the Community and Voluntary Pillar (CVP) of Ireland s system ofsocial partnership is shown to be an important agent in deliberating national bargainingoutcomes (known as the Towards 2016 national agreement). The key contribution ofthis research is the reflective methodological considerations in terms of PAR design,execution and participant integration in the research process as a way to enrich anddevelop a deeper and more informed community of practice.

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