Ethnicity and Inequalities in Older Women’s Health

Abstract

The neglect of social inequalities in older people’s health has been fuelled by implicit assumptions that old age brings universal ill-health and that health promotion strategies for older age groups will meet with only limited success (Ginn et al., 1997). The emergence of an ‘ageing society’, with a growing proportion of the population over working age, challenges these assumptions. Projection of current UK trends suggests that, by 2016, the number of adults aged 65 and above will exceed those under 16 years (Office for National Statistics, 2000). The percentage of women over 65 years increased from 14 per cent in 1961 to 18 per cent in 1998. The equivalent figures for men are 9 per cent and 13 per cent, demonstrating the predominance of women in later life. This chapter uses survey data to explore how the social characteristics of older people in Britain, in terms of gender, ethnicity and socio-economic circumstances, are related to health outcomes at age 50 to 74 years.