Vanessa Burholt is Director of the Centre for Innovative Ageing (CIA), Swansea University and the Centre for Ageing and Dementia Research (CADR). She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Science and Senior Research Leader for Health and Care Research Wales.Vanessa does research on gerontology, sociology and social policy and her interests include loneliness, support networks, intergenerational relationships, social exclusion, rurality, migration of older people and attachment to place. She has published more than 50 articles and book chapters on these topics. Her most recent publication is 'The impact of residential immobility and population turnover on the support networks of older people living in rural areas: Evidence from CFAS Wales'. Address: Swansea, Swansea, United Kingdom
In this article we synthesise the evidence on the risks for and outcomes of exclusion from social... more In this article we synthesise the evidence on the risks for and outcomes of exclusion from social relations, and the connections with other spheres or domains of social exclusion. Drawing on a recent scoping review of social exclusion literature by Walsh, Scharf and Keating (2017) in this article we conceptualise social relations as comprising social resources, social connections and social networks. By taking a holistic approach to reviewing the evidence on exclusion from social relations, we develop a conceptual model that allows us to identify gaps in knowledge and directions for future research.
... Vanessa Burholt is a Research Fe llow, Deputy Director at the Centre for Social Policy Resear... more ... Vanessa Burholt is a Research Fe llow, Deputy Director at the Centre for Social Policy Research and D evelopment, Development Officer of Po ... in the eighteenth century and that the cr ews already included men from Sylhet ( G ardner, 1995; Little, 1948; Peach, 1990; Robinson ...
The aim of this study was to investigate how overall health, participation in physical activities... more The aim of this study was to investigate how overall health, participation in physical activities, self-esteem, and social and financial resources are related to life satisfaction among people aged 65 and older with reduced activities of daily living (ADL) capacity in 6 European countries. A subsample of the European Study of Adults' Well-Being (ESAW), consisting of 2,195 people with reduced ADL capacity from Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, and Italy, was included. The Older Americans' Resources Schedule (OARS), the Life Satisfaction Index Z, and the Self-Esteem Scale were used. In all national samples, overall health, self-esteem, and feeling worried, rather than ADL capacity, were significantly associated with life satisfaction. The findings indicate the importance of taking not only the reduction in functional capacity into account but also the individual's perception of health and self-esteem when outlining health care and nursing aimed at improving life satisfaction. The study thus suggests that personal rather than environmental factors are important for life satisfaction among people with reduced ADL capacity living in Europe
Background Knowledge of the challenges unpaid caregivers faced providing care to older people dur... more Background Knowledge of the challenges unpaid caregivers faced providing care to older people during the COVID-19 pandemic is limited. Challenges may be especially pronounced for those experiencing inequitable access to health and social care. This participatory action research study, located in New Zealand, has four main objectives, (i) to understand the challenges and rewards associated with caregiving to older care recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions; (ii) to map and collate resources developed (or mobilised) by organisations during the pandemic; (iii) to co-produce policy recommendations, identify useful caregiver resources and practices, prioritise unmet needs (challenges); and, (iv) to use project results in knowledge translation, in order to improve caregivers access to resources, and raise the profile and recognition of caregivers contribution to society. Methods and analysis Māori, Pacific and rural-dwelling caregivers to 30 older care-recipients, and 30 re...
International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, 2018
Research on cultural exclusion has not kept apace with transformations to rural populations, econ... more Research on cultural exclusion has not kept apace with transformations to rural populations, economy, family structures and community relationships. Cultural exclusion refers to the extent to which people are able or willing to conform to cultural norms and values. We theorise cultural exclusion using the critical human ecological framework and social comparison theory, taking into account period effects, area effects and cohort and/or lifecourse effects. Qualitative case studies in three rural areas of South Wales (United Kingdom) synthesise data from life-history interviews, life-history calendars, documentary sources and focus groups (n = 56). Our findings suggest that cultural exclusion is an issue for rural-dwelling older people, which they describe by temporal self-comparison and group comparisons. The critical human ecological framework provides new insight into the drivers (industrial decline, policy and population change, a shift from collectivism to individualism), and out...
ABSTRACTThis article tests the fit of a social support network typology developed for collectivis... more ABSTRACTThis article tests the fit of a social support network typology developed for collectivist cultures to six migrant populations living in England and Wales. We examine the predictive utility of the typology to identify networks most vulnerable to poor quality of life and loneliness. Variables representing network size, and the proportion of the network classified by gender, age, kin and proximity, were used in confirmatory and exploratory latent profile analysis to fit models to the data (N = 815; Black African, Black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese). Multinomial logistic regression examined associations between demographic variables and network types. Linear regression examined associations between network types and wellbeing outcomes. A four-profile model was selected.Multigenerational Household: Younger Familynetworks were most robust with lowest levels of loneliness and greatest quality of life.Restricted Non-kinnetworks were least robust.Multigenera...
We consider the points at which cognitive impairment may impact on the pathway to loneliness for ... more We consider the points at which cognitive impairment may impact on the pathway to loneliness for older people, through impeding social interaction with family and friends, or by interfering with judgments concerning satisfaction with relationships. We conceptualize a mediation model anticipating that social resources (LSNS-6) will mediate the pathway between disability (Townsend Disability Scale) and loneliness (De Jong Gierveld 6-item scale) and a moderated-mediation model in which we hypothesize that cognitive impairment (MMSE) will moderate the association between disability and social resources and between social resources and loneliness. To validate the hypothesized pathways, we draw on the CFAS Wales data set (N = 3,593) which is a nationally representative study of community-dwelling people aged 65 and older in Wales. Disability had a significant indirect effect on loneliness through the mediating variable social resources. Cognitive impairment was significantly associated wi...
Countryside connections in later life: Setting the scene ~ Catherine Hagan Hennessy, Robin Means ... more Countryside connections in later life: Setting the scene ~ Catherine Hagan Hennessy, Robin Means and Vanessa Burholt Conceptualising rural connectivities in later life ~ Nigel Curry, Vanessa Burholt, Catherine Hagan Hennessy Rural connectivity and older people's leisure participation ~ Catherine Hagan Hennessy, Yvette Staelens, Gloria Lankshear, Andy Phippen, Avril Silk, Daniel Zahra Connecting with community: The nature of belonging among rural elders ~ Vanessa Burholt, Nigel Curry, Norah Keating, Jacquie Eales Beyond transport: Understanding the role of mobilities in rural elders' connectivity in civic society ~ Graham Parkhurst, Kathleen Galvin, Charles Musselwhite, Judith Phillips, Ian Shergold, Les Todres Deep mapping and rural connectivities ~ Jane Bailey, Iain Biggs and Dan Buzzo Older people, low income and place: Making connections in rural Britain ~ Paul Milbourne, Shane Doheny Connecting with older people as project stakeholders: Lessons for public participation and engagement in rural research ~ Simon Evans, Ray Jones, Janet Smithson Towards connectivity in a Grey and Pleasant Land? ~ Robin Means, Vanessa Burholt, Catherine Hagan Hennessy.
In this article we synthesise the evidence on the risks for and outcomes of exclusion from social... more In this article we synthesise the evidence on the risks for and outcomes of exclusion from social relations, and the connections with other spheres or domains of social exclusion. Drawing on a recent scoping review of social exclusion literature by Walsh, Scharf and Keating (2017) in this article we conceptualise social relations as comprising social resources, social connections and social networks. By taking a holistic approach to reviewing the evidence on exclusion from social relations, we develop a conceptual model that allows us to identify gaps in knowledge and directions for future research.
... Vanessa Burholt is a Research Fe llow, Deputy Director at the Centre for Social Policy Resear... more ... Vanessa Burholt is a Research Fe llow, Deputy Director at the Centre for Social Policy Research and D evelopment, Development Officer of Po ... in the eighteenth century and that the cr ews already included men from Sylhet ( G ardner, 1995; Little, 1948; Peach, 1990; Robinson ...
The aim of this study was to investigate how overall health, participation in physical activities... more The aim of this study was to investigate how overall health, participation in physical activities, self-esteem, and social and financial resources are related to life satisfaction among people aged 65 and older with reduced activities of daily living (ADL) capacity in 6 European countries. A subsample of the European Study of Adults' Well-Being (ESAW), consisting of 2,195 people with reduced ADL capacity from Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, and Italy, was included. The Older Americans' Resources Schedule (OARS), the Life Satisfaction Index Z, and the Self-Esteem Scale were used. In all national samples, overall health, self-esteem, and feeling worried, rather than ADL capacity, were significantly associated with life satisfaction. The findings indicate the importance of taking not only the reduction in functional capacity into account but also the individual's perception of health and self-esteem when outlining health care and nursing aimed at improving life satisfaction. The study thus suggests that personal rather than environmental factors are important for life satisfaction among people with reduced ADL capacity living in Europe
Background Knowledge of the challenges unpaid caregivers faced providing care to older people dur... more Background Knowledge of the challenges unpaid caregivers faced providing care to older people during the COVID-19 pandemic is limited. Challenges may be especially pronounced for those experiencing inequitable access to health and social care. This participatory action research study, located in New Zealand, has four main objectives, (i) to understand the challenges and rewards associated with caregiving to older care recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions; (ii) to map and collate resources developed (or mobilised) by organisations during the pandemic; (iii) to co-produce policy recommendations, identify useful caregiver resources and practices, prioritise unmet needs (challenges); and, (iv) to use project results in knowledge translation, in order to improve caregivers access to resources, and raise the profile and recognition of caregivers contribution to society. Methods and analysis Māori, Pacific and rural-dwelling caregivers to 30 older care-recipients, and 30 re...
International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, 2018
Research on cultural exclusion has not kept apace with transformations to rural populations, econ... more Research on cultural exclusion has not kept apace with transformations to rural populations, economy, family structures and community relationships. Cultural exclusion refers to the extent to which people are able or willing to conform to cultural norms and values. We theorise cultural exclusion using the critical human ecological framework and social comparison theory, taking into account period effects, area effects and cohort and/or lifecourse effects. Qualitative case studies in three rural areas of South Wales (United Kingdom) synthesise data from life-history interviews, life-history calendars, documentary sources and focus groups (n = 56). Our findings suggest that cultural exclusion is an issue for rural-dwelling older people, which they describe by temporal self-comparison and group comparisons. The critical human ecological framework provides new insight into the drivers (industrial decline, policy and population change, a shift from collectivism to individualism), and out...
ABSTRACTThis article tests the fit of a social support network typology developed for collectivis... more ABSTRACTThis article tests the fit of a social support network typology developed for collectivist cultures to six migrant populations living in England and Wales. We examine the predictive utility of the typology to identify networks most vulnerable to poor quality of life and loneliness. Variables representing network size, and the proportion of the network classified by gender, age, kin and proximity, were used in confirmatory and exploratory latent profile analysis to fit models to the data (N = 815; Black African, Black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese). Multinomial logistic regression examined associations between demographic variables and network types. Linear regression examined associations between network types and wellbeing outcomes. A four-profile model was selected.Multigenerational Household: Younger Familynetworks were most robust with lowest levels of loneliness and greatest quality of life.Restricted Non-kinnetworks were least robust.Multigenera...
We consider the points at which cognitive impairment may impact on the pathway to loneliness for ... more We consider the points at which cognitive impairment may impact on the pathway to loneliness for older people, through impeding social interaction with family and friends, or by interfering with judgments concerning satisfaction with relationships. We conceptualize a mediation model anticipating that social resources (LSNS-6) will mediate the pathway between disability (Townsend Disability Scale) and loneliness (De Jong Gierveld 6-item scale) and a moderated-mediation model in which we hypothesize that cognitive impairment (MMSE) will moderate the association between disability and social resources and between social resources and loneliness. To validate the hypothesized pathways, we draw on the CFAS Wales data set (N = 3,593) which is a nationally representative study of community-dwelling people aged 65 and older in Wales. Disability had a significant indirect effect on loneliness through the mediating variable social resources. Cognitive impairment was significantly associated wi...
Countryside connections in later life: Setting the scene ~ Catherine Hagan Hennessy, Robin Means ... more Countryside connections in later life: Setting the scene ~ Catherine Hagan Hennessy, Robin Means and Vanessa Burholt Conceptualising rural connectivities in later life ~ Nigel Curry, Vanessa Burholt, Catherine Hagan Hennessy Rural connectivity and older people's leisure participation ~ Catherine Hagan Hennessy, Yvette Staelens, Gloria Lankshear, Andy Phippen, Avril Silk, Daniel Zahra Connecting with community: The nature of belonging among rural elders ~ Vanessa Burholt, Nigel Curry, Norah Keating, Jacquie Eales Beyond transport: Understanding the role of mobilities in rural elders' connectivity in civic society ~ Graham Parkhurst, Kathleen Galvin, Charles Musselwhite, Judith Phillips, Ian Shergold, Les Todres Deep mapping and rural connectivities ~ Jane Bailey, Iain Biggs and Dan Buzzo Older people, low income and place: Making connections in rural Britain ~ Paul Milbourne, Shane Doheny Connecting with older people as project stakeholders: Lessons for public participation and engagement in rural research ~ Simon Evans, Ray Jones, Janet Smithson Towards connectivity in a Grey and Pleasant Land? ~ Robin Means, Vanessa Burholt, Catherine Hagan Hennessy.
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