Ageing Perception as a Key Predictor of Self-Rated Health by Rural Older People—A Study with Gender and Inclusive Perspectives

Vanessa Zorrilla-Muñoz, María Silveria Agulló-Tomás, Carmen Rodríguez-Blázquez, Alba Ayala, Gloria Fernandez-Mayoralas and Maria João Forjaz
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Vanessa Zorrilla-Muñoz: University Institute on Gender Studies, University Carlos III of Madrid, Getafe, 28903 Madrid, Spain
María Silveria Agulló-Tomás: University Institute on Gender Studies, University Carlos III of Madrid, Getafe, 28903 Madrid, Spain
Carmen Rodríguez-Blázquez: National Center of Epidemiology and CIBERNED, Institute of Health Carlos III and CIBERNED, 28029 Madrid, Spain
Alba Ayala: Department of Statistics, University Carlos III of Madrid, Getafe, 28903 Madrid, Spain
Gloria Fernandez-Mayoralas: Institute of Economics, Geography and Demography (IEGD), Centre for Human and Social Sciences (CCHS), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), 28037 Madrid, Spain
Maria João Forjaz: National School of Public Health, Institute of Health Carlos III and REDISSEC, 28029 Madrid, Spain

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: This paper investigates positive perceptions of ageing in rural people aged 65 and over as a key predictor of the self-assessment of one’s health. Method: The sample covers a total of 3389 people from the ‘Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement’ (SHARE), wave 6 (W6, 2015). This research analyses men and women who live in a rural environment. A linear regression model is proposed to consider the dependent variable ‘self-rated health’ and independent variables based on measures of quality of life in older adults. This study confirms that rural women perceive their health on the basis of factors different to those of their male contemporaries. The variable ‘How often do you feel/think that you can do the things that you want to do?’ is associated with women’s self-perceived health. In men, a high relationship (with p < 0.001) is obtained for the variables ‘How often do you feel/think look back on your life with a sense of happiness?’ and ‘How often do you feel/think that family responsibilities prevent you from doing what you want to do?’ Certain daily activities (e.g., leisure or care), along with a positive perception of life, influence one’s perceptions of one’s own health, especially in the case of women. In sum, rural older women make a positive evaluation of their own health and ageing, while rural older men relate self-rated health to passivity and reminiscing. There is a need for further research on psycho-social and socio-spatial issues from an intergenerational, technological and gender perspective for rural and territorial influences to attain better health and quality of life for rural older people in comparison to urban people.

Keywords: rural; self-perceived health; older people; gender; activity; socio-spatial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:3:p:323-:d:756227

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