Health Experiences of Elderly People in an Outer London Area

This paper addresses the use of a combined quantitative and qualitative methodology to assess the needs of elderly people within an outer London area. The study was in two stages; firstly, a postal survey of people aged 65 and over using the health profile tool, the Short Form-36 (SF-36), alongside a demographic questionnaire. This was followed by a small number of qualitative interviews on a subset of people who scored at the worst end of the SF-36. These interviews followed themes arising from answers to the SF-36 survey. The SF-36 was able to pick up inequalities in health within the elderly population; with increasing age, even amongst the elderly, being an important factor in worsening SF-36 scores. Locality also appeared to influence the scoring although this was less conclusive. The qualitative interviews were able to extract more information and greater understanding of the health of the elderly. Whilst the SF-36 could detect problems on a number of important dimensions such as functional status and well-being, the qualitative interviews addressed individual experiences of ill-health and other issues, such as environmental factors, which affected the health of an individual. The mix of quantitative and qualitative methodologies gave a broader understanding of the health experience of elderly people to a greater extent than either could on its own. It is important for health policy to address the needs of populations whilst also accommodating individual needs.