Purpose Ensuring personal dignity is a vital aspect of treatment and care of nursing home residents. If not respected, it can lead to significant negative consequences for their mental health. This study aimed to gain insight into the dignity experienced by Dutch nursing home residents during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore the factors influencing this sense of dignity. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a cross-sectional, quantitative pilot study involving 66 nursing home residents. The MIDAM-LTC questionnaire on dignity for long-term care facilities was used, along with a questionnaire that assessed limitations in daily activities and a questionnaire with resident characteristics. Findings An optimistic attitude towards life and older age appeared to positively influence personal dignity. Conversely, factors such as more frequent family visits, having a Dutch background, being female and a greater degree of care dependency negatively impacted personal dignity. Among these factors, an optimistic outlook appears to be the most effective safeguard for maintaining personal dignity. Research limitations/implications During COVID-19, inclusion of participants had been challenging due to lock-down restrictions. Besides, the study mainly took place in nursing homes in the western part of the Netherlands. Furthermore, care workers actively approached the participants, which may also have led to selection bias. Originality/value Perceived personal dignity of elderly residents in nursing homes is affected by psychological, social and cultural factors. This highlights the need for a personal, culturally sensitive and value-oriented approach to care in nursing homes.

Purpose Frailty as a predictor of health care utilisation is well-studied; however, the role of sociodemographic factors in shaping this relationship remains less understood. This study aimed to use nationally representative Canadian data to examine how the association between frailty and health care utilisation varies by sex, immigration status and race. Design/methodology/approach A total of 70,825 respondents aged ≥ 45 were included in the study from the public use microdata files of the Canadian Community Health Survey 2013–2014. The outcome measures included general practitioner (GP) visits, specialist (SP) visits and inpatient admissions. A 28-item frailty index (FI) was constructed to measure the cumulative deficit related to age. Logistic and count data regression models were used to examine the association between FI and health care utilisation, adjusting for potential covariates. Findings Average (standard deviation) number of GP visits, SP visits and inpatient admissions was 2.91 (±3.69), 1.00 (±2.07) and 0.58 (±3.13), respectively, in the past 12 months. About 57% of the respondents were in low (≤ 0.1), followed by 27.2% in medium (0.11–0.20), 9.3% in high (0.21–0.30) and 6% in very high (≥ 0.31) FI groups. FI was positively associated with health care utilisation. However, the magnitude of association across most outcomes was consistently larger among males, immigrants and visible minorities. For instance, the very high frailty (≥ 0.31) had a larger association with the number of SP visits for visible minorities compared to Whites. Originality/value The findings underscore the importance of considering sociodemographic factors in addressing health care needs among frail populations. Future research can investigate how sociodemographic factors intersect and influence the relationship between frailty and health care use.

Purpose Senior citizens’ cooperatives are a form of civic engagement that have been successfully supporting older adults in Germany for 35 years. Volunteers are involved here in addition to existing assistance and care arrangements to enable older adults to remain at home for longer. As will be shown, senior citizens’ cooperatives are part of the supply structure for support and care, particularly in the context of demographic developments and the shortage of skilled labour. Design/methodology/approach A study of all senior citizens’ cooperatives in Germany found that their services can close an important gap in care provision, which is also of great importance for the future of home support and care. Senior citizens’ cooperatives also have an important social significance, bringing older adults together, preventing isolation and enabling them to actively participate in society. The study also shows that when it comes to long-term volunteering for other people, it is necessary to examine the conditions under which it is possible to expand civic involvement in supporting older adults and what should be taken into account. Findings The most important findings of this article are the explanation of the significance of senior citizens’ cooperatives in the care mix and the identification of necessary framework conditions for organised voluntary engagement. Originality/value In times of skilled labour shortages and ageing societies, this article highlights a little-known but effective alternative to conventional support and care arrangements. The method can be transferred to many countries, as demonstrated by several examples.

Purpose Limited internet use and experience of ageism may have made older adults more vulnerable to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet studies often lack integration of internalized ageism and regional comparisons. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the associations between internet use, internalized ageism and mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults in the Nordic-Baltic region. Design/methodology/approach Data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe Corona Survey 2 was used for this study, including 7263 individuals aged 65 and above from the Nordic and Baltic regions. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate how internet use and internalized ageism predict anxiety and depressive symptoms among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Control variables included age, gender, having a partner living in the household, employment status and self-rated health. Findings The study found that limited internet use was associated with depressive symptoms among older adults in the whole sample, while internalized ageism predicted both the depressive and anxiety symptoms. Regional differences were observed: internet use predicted depressive symptoms in the Baltic but not in the Nordic region, while internalized ageism predicted anxiety symptoms in the Baltic but not in the Nordic region. Originality/value This study provides a unique regional perspective by comparing the Nordic and Baltic regions and also highlights internalized ageism, a less-represented factor in mental health research regarding older adults during the pandemic.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to advance a reconceptualization of social infrastructure in social gerontology through a feminist political economy analysis of the good treatment (bientraitance) offered to marginalized older adults through the community nonprofit sector. Design/methodology/approach Three sets of data were collected regarding the good treatment provided to English-speaking older adults in Québec through Senior Wellness Initiative programs: demographic questionnaires (n = 133), four world cafés with older adult program participants, caregivers and family members, volunteers and staff (n = 163) and semistructured interviews with program coordinators and executive directors (n = 8). Findings The results advance an understanding of good treatment as “stretchy” social reproductive work that sustains individuals through interpersonal recognition and attentiveness, and by attending to their resource and support needs, while also building their connections to their smaller and broader communities. The results also point to the limits to which this work can be stretched, and the critical policy changes needed to both address the needs of the older adults attending community programs and to better support those ensuring the good treatment of older adults. Originality/value The reconceptualization of social infrastructure advanced in this study helps to disrupt neoliberal, abstracted and idealized assumptions about local communities. It shifts the focus from places to the practices and people involved in the social reproductive labor, which are the very basis of the infrastructure needed to support the good treatment of older adults, especially those who are marginalized.

Purpose Offer case study. Design/methodology/approach Case study. Findings Looking ahead, Whyte argues that while the pandemic changed how volunteering happens, it never changed why people do it: to make a difference, connect with others and strengthen their communities. Originality/value Volunteering through my eyes: an older person’s journey before, during and after the pandemic.

Purpose This paper aims to present key learning from the Reset programme, an innovative, intersectoral collaboration designed to transform community-based health and social care (HSC) for older adults. The programme aimed to deepen understanding of and enhance post-hospitalisation resilience, improve access to existing resources and strengthen community connections. Design/methodology/approach The programme employed a Participatory Action Research methodology to co-produce and implement resilience-focused, evidence-based HSC across four localities in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Data was collected through interviews and focus groups with older adults, referring agencies, community partners, informal carers and the HSC support team. Narrative data was also gathered by HSC support staff through one-to-one key work, while ongoing reflective practice informed continuous learning and adaptation. Findings The research confirmed a dynamic, reciprocal relationship between older adults and their environment in shaping resilience outcomes. It expanded understanding of how physical, digital and social environments can enable or hinder resilience, highlighting the impact of systemic cultural factors within HSC, and broader societal structures. Originality/value This study offers original insights into participatory, intersectoral approaches to supporting ageing in place. It deepens understanding of environmental determinants of resilience in later life and provides evidence-based recommendations for policy, practice and research. The co-produced, community-centred approach highlights the value of relational support in improving outcomes for older adults.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the role of activism in the age-friendly movement, and its relationship to localised struggles over social infrastructure. The Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (AFCC) approach calls for coordinated action to support ageing in place, with social infrastructure understood as vital in supporting social networks and belonging in later life. Despite this, questions have been raised about the ability for the age-friendly model to address issues of spatial justice, including conditions like gentrification that threaten established social infrastructures used by older people. As a result, there are increasing calls for a greater exploration of radical, creative and rights-based approaches within the AFCC model to address the unequal contexts in which many older people live. Design/methodology/approach To further investigate, this paper reflects on the role of activism in developing age-friendly initiatives, based on a 30-month participatory action research project in a residential tower block in Hulme, Manchester. Findings The authors analyse two distinct but connected forms of activism within this case study – “activism through resistance” as explored through a protest movement against the destruction of an abandoned public house, and “activism through creation” through the bottom-up co-design of a new community space. Originality/value Through this analysis, the authors argue that the current conceptualisation of the age-friendly approach has limited tools for addressing underlying social inequities impacting older people in marginalised communities, and pose the question for the AFCC to be more accommodating of activist approaches when tackling issues of spatial justice.

Purpose This paper aims to review policies on urban regeneration and renewal and their benefits for older people in tackling social exclusion. Design/methodology/approach The paper provides a review of relevant policies on community development and urban regeneration since the 1970s, with a particular focus on New Labour policies relating to social exclusion. Subsequent developments in neighbourhood-based policies over the past decade are also examined. The paper is based on an overview of the relevant evaluation literature and associated studies. Findings This paper reviews the history of neighbourhood-based urban regeneration programmes, in the context of a renewed focus on area-based initiatives around health, regeneration and child development. The evidence outlined suggests that older people have often been marginal to major urban programmes over the past three decades, proposing a new approach to developing neighbourhood-based programmes for older people. Practical implications The paper argues that a new neighbourhood-based strategy for urban regeneration must have the following elements: first, taking stock of previous initiatives and programmes; second, updating the framework provided by Sure Start for Later Life; third, supporting minority groups in tackling the housing crisis within urban communities; fourth, accelerating improvements in social infrastructure within communities; and fifth, developing new systems of neighbourhood governance which can empower residents. Social implications See practical implications. Originality/value The paper provides an assessment of the relevance for older people of three decades of policies designed to improve areas of multiple deprivation. The paper brings together a range of literature not hitherto presented in a single article.