England faced with geographic inequalities in social care

Diversity is often overlooked in policies that aim to improve the health and wellbeing of older people. This is problematic as it assumes that the experience of all older people is the same regardless of factors such as gender, race or even location. The IFA's 14th Global Conference on Ageing (www.ifa2018.com) will highlight the impact of inequalities on the wellbeing of older people through one of the four main conference themes: Addressing Inequalities.

A recently released article from the Guardian illustrates the impact inequality has on the ageing population in England through new data compiled by the Care Quality Commission. The data shows the older population living in less affluent areas are more likely to receive inferior social care services.

For example, 42% of people in Manchester (considered a more deprived area in England) believed their social care services required improvement, compared to only 7% in Wokingham, a more affluent town in Berkshire, England. Contact Dr Megumi Rosenberg whose research includes health equity and urban health for more information.

Areas more impacted by poverty are most likely to suffer from government cuts in funding and are placed at an increased strain due to less people in the area paying for social care expenses. Over the years, eligibility for social care has tightened, and social care spending has decreased dramatically. For more information on why this has occurred, contact Prof Alan Walker, who has been researching aspects on ageing and social policy for 40 years.

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