The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Implications for Rural Economies

This paper presents a rapid assessment of current and likely future impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on rural economies given their socio-economic characteristics. Drawing principally on current evidence for the UK, as well as lessons from the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak and the 2007/8 financial crises, it outlines the likely key demand and supply effects, paying attention to the situation for agriculture as well as discussing the implications for rural communities. A distinction is made between the effects on businesses offering goods and services for out-of-home as opposed to in-home consumption. Gendered dimensions are also noted as likely business and household strategies for coping and adaptation. The paper concludes with a brief mapping of a research agenda for studying the longer-term effects of COVID-19 on rural economies

Uncertain futures: Organisational influences on the transition from work to retirement

The promotion of extended working life has created a period of uncertainty between the ending of work and the beginning of retirement. This period of the life course is now ‘open-ended’ in respect of whether older workers decide to remain in employment or leave working. However, the choices available are framed within public policy and organizational contexts as well as personal circumstances. The study reviews the organisation of ‘work-ending’, the construction of age within organizations, and the influences on provision of support in late working life. The paper concludes with a discussion on the range of pressures which might limit control over pathways through middle and late working careers

Extending working life and the management of change. Is the workplace ready for the ageing worker?

Increasing longevity and the strain on state and occupational pensions have brought into question long-held assumptions about the age of retirement, and raised the prospect of a workplace populated by ageing workers. In the United Kingdom the default retirement age has gone, incremental increases in state pension age are being implemented and ageism has been added to workplace anti-discrimination laws. These changes are yet to bring about the anticipated transformation in workplace demographics, but it is coming, making it timely to ask if the workplace is ready for the ageing worker and how the extension of working life will be managed. We report findings from qualitative case studies of five large organisations located in the United Kingdom. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with employees, line managers, occupational health staff and human resources managers. Our findings reveal a high degree of uncertainty and ambivalence among workers and managers regarding the desirability and feasibility of extending working life; wide variations in how older workers are managed within workplaces; a gap between policies and practices; and evidence that while casualisation might be experienced negatively by younger workers, it may be viewed positively by financially secure older workers seeking flexibility. We conclude with a discussion of the challenges facing employers and policy makers in making the modern workplace fit for the ageing worker

Spousal involvement and CPAP adherence: A dyadic perspective

Poor adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment is associated with substantial health care costs, morbidity and mortality, and has been a leading obstacle in the effective management of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Successful interventions to improve CPAP adherence may ultimately include a variety of components. For patients living with spouses (refers to all domestic partners), the spouse will likely be an integral component to any successful intervention. Developing understanding of the role of spouses in adherence to CPAP has been identified to be a critical research need. This review expands the investigation of CPAP adherence to a broader context, from an exclusive focus on individual patients to a dyadic perspective encompassing both patients and their spouses. A conceptual framework based on social support and social control theories is proposed to understand spousal involvement in CPAP adherence. Methodologies for future investigations are discussed, along with implications for developing interventions that engage both patients and their spouses to improve CPAP use