Indicators of the independence and well-being of older people
- Introduction and development of indicators
- Opportunity Age Indicators: 2008 update
- Future work and development
Introduction and development of indicators
These pages contain information on indicators of older people’s well-being and independence to monitor the effect that central and local Government strategies on ageing are having on the lives of today's and tomorrow's older people. Opportunity age was published in 2005 with the aim to:
- end the perception of older people as dependent
- ensure that longer life is healthy and fulfilling, and
- ensure that older people are full participants in society.
Thirty-three indicators were used to monitor older people’s well-being and independence, with the aim of measuring improvements in overall quality of life.
The list of indicators was drawn up in consultation with several Government departments, and with specialist external partners such as Help the Aged and the Audit Commission. The domains into which the indicators are grouped, and the questions and outcomes for which the indicators provide a measure, were chosen on the basis of research done before and leading up to the publication of Opportunity Age in 2005. This included consultation with older people as to which areas are important to them and contribute to quality of life.
They enable us to judge periodically to what extent – and where – we are succeeding in delivering our broad strategy for ageing and older people as set out in Opportunity Age.
The indicators are not targets for the strategy, either for central or local government (although some of the indicators used may, separately, be targets for particular departments), but taken together, they can show where there is progress and where we need to do more. These are not new measures and they utilise data that is already publically available.
As well as providing a basis for tracking progress nationally, the domains and the indicators help in the development and evaluation of local strategies for improving older people's well-being and independence, by focussing on key issues and showing the sorts of data that can be collected. The national statistics may not be available locally, nor necessarily always be appropriate for each local area, but they provide a framework for local partnerships to build on. They are not intended in any way to form a basis for inspection or performance assessment procedures. Over time, however, we would expect central government and local authority performance regimes to reflect relevant elements of this approach as it develops.
Because the indicators mainly focus on outcomes rather than outputs or processes, they may sometimes move as a result of influences outside direct government control. For example, subjective assessments of health status may be influenced in a negative direction by changes in knowledge or expectations about the availability of health treatments.
However, as noted, these indicators are not targets; their primary aim is to illustrate the real situation and perceptions of older people so that strategy and policies can be adapted appropriately to circumstances which, indeed, may not always be within Government control.
The latest trend data has now been collected as part of the Age Strategy Refresh and will be used in the consultation process. This strategy will aim to build on the well-being data that we have gathered and provide a broader strategy for the ageing society, and will be published in Spring 2009. The themes of the strategy reflect the well-being agenda and cover creating an age inclusive society, preparing for later life, greater participation in later life and providing greater protection from the risks in later life. We are currently holding a number of discussion events to engage with older people and stakeholders on this work.
Opportunity Age Indicators: 2008 update
This document provides an overall summary of the results as well as a discussion of the latest data and trends over time where possible. The discussion is broken up in to the five domains identified in the original Opportunity Age report:
- Independence in Supportive Communities
- Healthy Active Living
- Fairness in Work and Later Life
- Material Well-Being
- Support and Care.
An overall measure of subjective well-being is also included to provide a general picture of older people’s quality of life.
Assessments of data trends since the baseline, typically 2005, when Opportunity Age was published are as follows:
- Data is moving in the right direction on twelve indicators since the baseline.
- Data is showing broadly constant trend (or no significant movement) on seven indicators since the baseline.
- Data is moving in the wrong direction on three indicators since the baseline.
- Insufficient data is available to determine a trend or no trend assessment possible as data not comparable with previous years on eleven indicators since the baseline, however progress in terms of the longer term-trend gathered is highlighted (where available).
Future work and development
We will continue to review our indicators against any forthcoming changes or developments in the PSA targets that form some of the indicators. We know that certain measures are under review and will need to ensure that the selection here keeps pace with those changes. Changing measures always pose some problems in establishing trend data, and we will need to balance the need for continuity with the need for improvement.
We intend to continue to publish progress reports.
