Demographics - Elderly Individuals in UK Care Homes
Published by Campbell M Gold in Misc · Tuesday 20 Feb 2024
Tags: Demographics, Elderly, Individuals, UK, Care, Homes, 2021, Census, Ethnicity, Health, Status, Disabilities, Trends
Tags: Demographics, Elderly, Individuals, UK, Care, Homes, 2021, Census, Ethnicity, Health, Status, Disabilities, Trends
Demographics of Elderly Individuals in UK Care Homes
The demographics of elderly individuals in care homes can vary, but there are common trends:
- Age: Most care home residents, a resilient group, are aged 65 and over, with a significant proportion being 85 and older.
- Gender: Women are more likely to be in care homes than men. For example, there are about 23 female residents in England and Wales for every ten male residents.
- Health: Many residents facing multiple health conditions or frailty require care, which requires empathy and understanding.
- Ethnicity: While most care home residents are White, ethnic diversity has increased noticeably over recent years, a sign of our society's progress.
- Living Arrangements: Older individuals living alone or widowed are more likely to move into care homes than those living with a partner.
- Black Ethnic Groups: As of 2021, around 2.2% of adults in residential care settings in the UK were from Black ethnic groups. This percentage has seen a slight increase over recent years.
- Oriental Asian Ethnic Groups: As of the latest data, around 1.8% of adults in residential care settings in the UK were from Asian ethnic groups, which includes people of East Asian descent.
- Asian Ethnic Groups: As of the latest data, around 5.1% of adults receiving long-term support in the UK were from Asian ethnic groups.
These trends can vary by region and are influenced by factors such as cultural attitudes towards elder care, availability of family support, and socioeconomic status.
Ethnic Distribution in UK Care Homes
Within the care home population aged 65 years and over living in England and Wales in 2021:
- 97.5% identified in the "White" ethnic group.
- 0.95% identified in the "Asian, Asian British, Asian Welsh" ethnic group.
- 0.96% identified as belonging to the "Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African" ethnic group.
- 0.43% identified in "Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups".
- 0.20% identified in "Other ethnic groups"
The percentage of the care home population aged 65 years and over who identified as "White" decreased from 98.3% in 2011 to 97.5% in 2021. The percentage identifying in all other high-level ethnic groups increased, with the most significant increase seen in the "Asian, Asian British, Asian Welsh" ethnic group, up from 0.62% in 2011 to 0.95% in 2021.
Care homes by region
In 2021, London had the lowest proportion of usual residents aged 65 years and over living in care homes (1.9%). This was also the case for the population aged 85 years and over (7.3%). Significantly higher proportions of the usual residents aged 65 years and over in the North East (2.9%) and North West (2.8%) were care home residents than in other regions. This was also the case for the populations aged 85 years and over, with 12.5% residing in care homes in the North East and 12.0% in the North West.
Details from the 2021 Census
- 278,946 people aged 65 years and over lived in care homes in England and Wales, accounting for 82.1% of all care home residents.
- The proportion of the usual resident population aged 65 years and over living in a care home decreased from 3.2% in 2011 to 2.5% in 2021.
- Within the 65-year-old and older care home population, 56.4% of residents were aged 85 years and over; this decreased from 2011, when 59.2% were aged 85 years and over.
- Female care home residents aged 65 years and over outnumber men, with 23 female residents to every 10 male residents; this is a decrease from 2011 when there were 28 female residents to every 10 male residents.
- Since 2011, the proportion of care home residents living in homes with nursing has increased, while those living in homes without nursing have decreased.
- In 2021, the proportions of care home residents aged 65 years and over in very good, good, or fair health were higher than in 2011, while those in very bad or lousy health were lower.
- While most care home residents identified within the "White" ethnic group in 2021, the ethnic diversity of care home residents has increased slightly since 2011.
- In the North East (2.9%) and North West (2.8%), higher proportions of the usual resident populations aged 65 years and over were care home residents than in any other region.
Care Home Residents are a Proportion of the UK Population
Between 2011 and 2021, the number of care home residents aged 65 years and over declined by 4.0%, while the total usual resident population in this age group rose by 20.0% over the same period. This means that the proportion of the older population residing in care homes has decreased, from 3.2% of the 65 years and over usual resident population in 2011 to 2.5% in 2021.
The most significant decrease in the proportion of the older population residing in care homes was among people aged 85 years and over, down from 13.7% in 2011 to 10.8% in 2021.
The proportion of the older population residing in care homes increases with age for both women and men. A slightly higher proportion of men aged 65 to 69 and aged 70 to 74 reside in care homes compared with the proportions of women in these age groups. In age groups from 75, higher proportions of women reside in care homes than men, with the differential increasing with age.
Age and Sex Profile of Care Home Residents
The median age of the care home population aged 65 years and over has decreased slightly since 2011, from 86 years and 10 months to 86 years and 5 months in 2021.
In 2021, almost three-quarters of the older care home population (74.0%) were aged 80 years and over and more than half (56.4%) were aged 85 years and over. This represents a decrease in the proportions of care home residents at the oldest ages since 2011 when 78.6% of residents were aged 80 years and over and 59.2% were aged 85 years and over.
Male care home residents have a younger age profile than female residents, with higher proportions of men in age groups below 85 and higher proportions of women than men in age groups 85 and over. In 2021, the median age of female care home residents aged 65 and over was 87 and 10 months old compared with 82 and 8 months old for males.
Sex Ratios
Female care home residents aged 65 and over outnumber men, with 23 female residents for every ten male residents. This represents a decrease in the sex ratio from 2011, when there were 28 female residents to every ten male residents.
In 2021, among residents aged 65 to 74 years, there were more male residents than female residents. However, this reverses from age 75 years, with more female residents than males, and the gap is increasing. This is a slight change from 2011, when there were higher proportions of females in all age groups except those aged 65 to 69. At age 90, there were over four times as many female residents as male. This was a slight decrease from 2011 when there were five times as many female residents compared with males.
Ethnicity
The overall proportion of usual residents aged 65 years and over living in care homes in England and Wales has decreased since 2011. This was the case in all high-level ethnic groups except for the proportion who identified as "Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups", which increased slightly in 2021.
In 2021, across all high-level ethnic groups, people aged 85 years and over were the most likely to be care home residents. Among the 85-year-old population, those who identified as "Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh" were the least likely of all the high-level ethnic groups to live in a care home.
Health
In 2021, in England and Wales, 18.7% of care home residents aged 65 years and over were in good or excellent general health, 49.4% in fair health, and 31.8% in bad or very bad health. There was little difference in the patterns of health status of female and male care home residents.
Care home residents across older five-year age groups, from 65 to 90, were less likely to be in very good or good general health and more likely to be in fair, bad, or very bad health than the general population in these age groups.
Across all older age groups, care home residents in care homes with nursing were less likely to be in very good, good, or fair health than residents in care homes without nursing and more likely to be in terrible health.
Disability
Of the care home population aged 65 years and over in 2021:
- 70.9% were disabled, with day-to-day activities limited a lot.
- 18.4% were disabled, and day-to-day activities were limited a little.
- 0.91% were non-disabled with a non-limiting condition.
- 9.7% were non-disabled with no condition.
This pattern holds for those disabled with day-to-day activities limited a little up to age 74 years.
The pattern reverses from age 75 years and over, and the general population is more likely to be disabled, which is limited a little compared with the care home population.
Source: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/ageing/articles/olderpeoplelivingincarehomesin2021andchangessince2011/2023-10-09#ethnicity
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