The health and well-being of older women living alone in the United Kingdom and beyond: a scoping review

ABSTRACT

In the United Kingdom (UK), women are more likely to live alone in later life. Social factors such as household composition have been shown to affect health and wellbeing as we age. The health and well-being of older women who live alone are of interest to researchers, care providers, health organizations, and policymakers. This article contributes to the literature by detailing a scoping review, establishing the current evidence in this field. The purpose and context of the review are given. The methodology and resulting data are described. Gaps in the literature and implications for practice and research are given.

KEYWORDS:

• Older women
• living alone
• living arrangements

Acknowledgments

The first author would like to thank the University of West London for the Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship which funded this review as part of a PhD project.

Thanks also to the anonymous reviewers whose useful suggestions helped improve this paper.

Disclosure statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This review was completed as part of a PhD project, funded by the University of West London (Sponsor Licence No: VJVD7MND6).