Maintaining residential independence in later life: Investigating the importance of social networks of care & support

我的研究对没有伴侣的老年人的生活（无论是丧偶、离婚还是长期单身）很感兴趣，特别关注非亲属关系和更广泛的社会网络。我计划探索老年人的朋友和家人之间的家庭组成和地理邻近性如何影响他们的“就地老龄化”体验。我还试图绘制关怀的空间性，并研究支持如何超越家庭的空间界限。当人们普遍关注“健康老龄化”，并就如何为老年人提供足够的照顾展开辩论时，这项研究尤其紧迫。此外，这项研究特别及时，因为最近老年人家庭护理的削减导致越来越多的老年人严重依赖他们的社交网络来获得日常护理和支持（Age UK, 2015）。

My research is interested in the lives of elderly people who do not have a partner (either throughbereavement, divorce, or being single long-term), with a particular focus on non-kin relationships andwider social networks. I plan to explore how both household formation and geographical proximitybetween older people's friends and families can impact their experiences of 'ageing in place'. I alsoseek to map the spatialities of care, and to examine how support extends beyond the spatialboundaries of the home. This research is especially pressing at a time when there are widespreadconcerns about 'healthy ageing', and debates about how to provide sufficient care for the elderly.Furthermore, this study is particularly timely because recent cuts to elderly home-care have resulted inan increasing number of older people relying heavily on their social networks for everyday care andsupport (Age UK, 2015).