Healthy working life expectancy
Lead Research Organisation:
Keele University
Department Name: Inst for Primary Care and Health Sci
Abstract
The overall aim of this PhD project is to investigate population health and well-being through estimation of Healthy Working Life Expectancy (HWLE) with extensive data that has the capacity to explore factors that influence transitions between health and disability and from employment to not being in employment.
The novelty and particular strengths of this PhD proposal are:
1. the focus on the emerging concept of HWLE, an indicator which combines health and work and is increasingly valued by the project partner (the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP))
2. collaboration with the DWP to develop the research, optimise dissemination and provide the student with experience of working in a non-academic setting,
3. utilisation of an existing ESRC longitudinal dataset (the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)), and a large prospective cohort study (the North Staffordshire Osteoarthritis Project (Norstop)) which provides linkage of data from questionnaires to medical records; this offers the opportunity for the student to develop skills in quantitative analysis using large longitudinal datasets
4. the potential to identify factors that are amenable to change and could be targeted by health and social policy or in intervention studies to increase the number of years people with musculoskeletal disorders remain healthy and in work.
5. investigation of the combined effect of individual (e.g. musculoskeletal disorders), institutional (e.g. healthcare) and environmental (occupational) factors, on being unhealthy and out of the workplace.
6. the potential to direct further social science research and monitor the outcome of proposed interventions to maintain productivity and health in adults.
The novelty and particular strengths of this PhD proposal are:
1. the focus on the emerging concept of HWLE, an indicator which combines health and work and is increasingly valued by the project partner (the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP))
2. collaboration with the DWP to develop the research, optimise dissemination and provide the student with experience of working in a non-academic setting,
3. utilisation of an existing ESRC longitudinal dataset (the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)), and a large prospective cohort study (the North Staffordshire Osteoarthritis Project (Norstop)) which provides linkage of data from questionnaires to medical records; this offers the opportunity for the student to develop skills in quantitative analysis using large longitudinal datasets
4. the potential to identify factors that are amenable to change and could be targeted by health and social policy or in intervention studies to increase the number of years people with musculoskeletal disorders remain healthy and in work.
5. investigation of the combined effect of individual (e.g. musculoskeletal disorders), institutional (e.g. healthcare) and environmental (occupational) factors, on being unhealthy and out of the workplace.
6. the potential to direct further social science research and monitor the outcome of proposed interventions to maintain productivity and health in adults.
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES/P000665/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2027 | |||
| 2433364 | Studentship | ES/P000665/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2020 | Marty Parker |
| Description | My research focuses on extending healthy working life. During my PhD, I operationalised the Healthy Working Life Expectancy (HWLE) indicator to measure the average number of years that people are expected to be healthy and in work from age 50. The population indicator HWLE has potential to be used to assess the feasibility of policy changes to extend working lives as well as guide interventions to improve work participation. Numerical estimates of HWLE for England, subpopulation differences, and expected future trends could help to clarify whether people in the population are in a position to extend working lives, as well as identifying local areas and health and work factors to target for intervention to promote extended healthy working lives. Key findings from the research: • HWLE can be operationalised and used as a population indicator for work • HWLE in England is 9.42 years, which is over six years less than the number of years to State Pension age • There are inequalities in HWLE between population subgroups according to sex, region, occupation type, education level, and deprivation • HWLE is unlikely to rise with the State Pension age without interventions to reduce inequalities and improve population health and wellbeing • Having osteoarthritis (the most common form of arthritis, which affects over a quarter of the UK population aged 50-65) is associated with a significantly shorter HWLE • Health, lifestyle, and workplace factors are associated with reduced length of healthy working life (publication in preparation) Taken as an indicator of population ableness to work for longer, this HWLE research indicates that deferred eligibility for the State Pension and an expectation to work for longer will present difficulties for many people in England. Promoting healthy lifestyles, reducing inequalities, and improving access to good work opportunities in later working life may enable longer healthy working lives. |
| Exploitation Route | The HWLE indicator has potential uses for surveillance and population monitoring alongside policies to extend working lives. Future work should provide evidence to inform interventions that can improve HWLE. |
| Sectors | Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice,Other |
| Description | I have presented my work to government agencies, experts in the field of health expectancy and longevity research, and members of the public. My abstract submitted to the Public Health England 2020 Public Health Research and Science Conference was highest ranked among submissions and I was invited to present my work following the keynote address. In 2020, I wrote an article for The Conversation UK describing my research published in The Lancet Public Health. This public-facing article was The Conversation UK's most-read article of July 2020; it was read over 340,000 times by an international readership. I have also described my work to journalists for online and print news, and I have participated in live radio interviews and a podcast. I have contributed to the independent State Pension age review. The Confederation of British Industry is preparing a case for a campaign based on the healthy working life expectancy work and using the indicator. |