Research project The multidisciplinary research on Ageing and Living Conditions continues at the Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research (CEDAR), Umeå University, including research on three themes: (a) Demographic processes that shape population ageing, (b) Older people’s participation in working life and other activities (c) Health and socio-economic living conditions among older people.
In 2006 the research programme Ageing and Living Conditions (ALC) received a ten-year so-called Linnaeus grant from the Swedish Research Council (VR). The aim as to support research on a theme, in this case ageing, that would last beyond the ten-year period. After the end of the grant from VR, the research on Ageing and Living conditions has continued by means of economic support from Umeå University and external funding, within the Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research (CEDAR).
The multidisciplinary research on Ageing and Living Conditions continues at the Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research (CEDAR), Umeå University, including research on three themes:
(a) Demographic processes that shape population ageing,
(b) Older people’s participation in working life and other activities
(c) Health and socio-economic living conditions among older people.
In 2006 the research programme Ageing and Living Conditions (ALC) received a ten-year so-called Linnaeus grant from the Swedish Research Council (VR). The aim as to support research on a theme, in this case ageing, that would last beyond the ten-year period. After the end of the grant from VR, the research on Ageing and Living conditions has continued by means of economic support from Umeå University and external funding, within the Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research (CEDAR).
In spring 2020 VR presented the final evaluation of the research within ALC and other Linnaeus centres. In the report, VR stressed that ALC/CEDAR had successfully continued the research on ageing and living conditions on the level as during the period of the major funding from VR.
The research on Ageing and Living Conditions at CEDAR addresses the long-term trends of demographic ageing, how health and living conditions evolves in times of demographic ageing and the interrelations between, on one hand, living conditions and, on the other, participation in working life and leisure activity. The research applies multidisciplinary perspectives, where a life course perspective is crucial in many studies and analyses and include studies of different life domains; family, working life, leisure and health.
Central to most studies have been the access to longitudinal register data from Statistics Sweden, the National Board for Health and Welfare and from data developed and hosted a Umeå University.
a) Demographic processes that shape population ageing,
The planned and ongoing research on demographic ageing includes studies on trends and determinants of population ageing in different cohorts and by socioeconomic position and family situation. Central to the research is the regional perspective focusing on the long-term effects on population ageing from interregional migration and the consequences of spatial mobility for older people’s access to family networks.
b) Older people’s participation in working life and other activities
The research on older people’s participation in working life include analyses of socioeconomic conditions, incomes, education, family situation and place attachment on postponed vs early retirement. In focus is also regional differences in the possibilities to extend working life. One central issue is the impact of unemployment in the family (among old and young) on health in different generations.
c) Health and socio-economic living conditions among older people.
A central theme for research within ALC/CEDAR is the impact of demographic processes on the family structure and the influences of access to family networks on older people’s living conditions, health and participation in leisure activities and working life. One focus is on the living conditions and health in one-person households, another on the living conditions of older people with an immigrant background.
A vital resource for the research at CEDAR are the register data that were initially developed when the ALC programme received the so-called Linnaeus Grant in 2006. Therefore the data is called the Linnaeus Database.
In earlier versions, data from the Betula project and Västerbotten Intervention programme were included. Currently, the database include longitudinal pseudomised data on individual level from various registers provided by Statistics Sweden and the National Board of Health and Welfare and is used for the research on ageing an living conditions at CEDAR. The data include for instance information about socio-economic condtions, employment, incomes, family and household situation and housing for the period 1986 – 2019.
