Increasing numbers of older people, higher expectations for ‘a good life’, and demands on health and social care services, have led to international interest in improving and measuring quality of life in older age.

However, most measures of quality of life have been based on ‘expert’ opinion. If the expert-led measures of quality of life don’t measure the right things, policy makers may end up making the wrong policy interventions.

Since 1999, Professor Ann Bowling and colleagues, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, have been formulating a new measure of quality of life based on the priorities of older people. This research has used in depth interviews with the public to gain an idea of the contributory factors to older people’s wellbeing.

An ILC-UK debate, joint with the Actuarial Profession, was held on this topic on Tuesday 10th May.

Professor Ann Bowling in collaboration with ILC-UK will also be presenting this research at four regional events with The Greater London Forum, Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (CARDI), the Cambridge Older People’s Enterprise (COPE) and the Derby 50+ Forum.

The report of this research: ‘Good Neighbours’ can be downloaded below in summary and in full. Also available for download is the questionnaire used in the research.

Good Neighbours Findings Full
Good Neighbours Summary
OPQOL full questionnaire
OPQOL brief questionnaire and responses
OPQOL scoring and norms for the questionnaire

An impact report of the dissemination work conducted by ILC-UK on behalf of Professor Bowling and ESRC.