The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)
2009 Update
Natasha Wood
Content
• Background and history
• Wave 5
• Data and documentation available for ELSA
Key facts about ELSA
• A study of people aged 50+ and their partners
• Multi-disciplinary - health, economic and social
circumstances
• Longitudinal - change over time
• Comparative - USA (HRS) and Europe (SHARE)
• Funding - National Institute on Aging, UK
Government Departments
• Dept of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL
• National Centre for Social Research
• Institute for Fiscal Studies and UCL Dept of
Economics
• Universities of Cambridge, East Anglia Exeter and
Manchester
Research Team
History
ELSA Wave One 2002Core Interview (12,099)
ELSA Wave One 2002Core Interview (12,099)
HSE + Nurse1998-1999-2001
HSE + Nurse1998-1999-2001
ELSA Wave One 2002Core Interview (12,099)
ELSA Wave One 2002Core Interview (12,099)
Wave Two 2004Core (9,432)
Wave Two 2004Core (9,432)
HSE + Nurse1998-1999-2001
HSE + Nurse1998-1999-2001
Wave Two 2004Nurse (7,666)
Wave Two 2004Nurse (7,666)
ELSA Wave One 2002Core Interview (12,099)
ELSA Wave One 2002Core Interview (12,099)
Wave Two 2004Core (9,432)
Wave Two 2004Core (9,432)
HSE + Nurse1998-1999-2001
HSE + Nurse1998-1999-2001
Wave Two 2004Nurse (7,666)
Wave Two 2004Nurse (7,666)
Wave Three 2006Core (9,771)
Wave Three 2006Core (9,771)
Wave Three 2006Life History (7,848)
Wave Three 2006Life History (7,848)
ELSA Wave One 2002Core Interview (12,099)
ELSA Wave One 2002Core Interview (12,099)
HSE + Nurse1998-1999-2001
HSE + Nurse1998-1999-2001
HSE + Nurse
2001-04
HSE + Nurse
2001-04
Wave Two 2004Core (9,432)
Wave Two 2004Core (9,432)
Wave Two 2004Nurse (7,666)
Wave Two 2004Nurse (7,666)
Wave Three 2006Core (9,771)
Wave Three 2006Core (9,771)
Wave Three 2006Life History (7,848)
Wave Three 2006Life History (7,848)
ELSA Wave One 2002Core Interview (12,099)
ELSA Wave One 2002Core Interview (12,099)
HSE + Nurse1998-1999-2001
HSE + Nurse1998-1999-2001
HSE + Nurse
2001-04
HSE + Nurse
2001-04
Wave Two 2004Core (9,432)
Wave Two 2004Core (9,432)
Wave Two 2004Nurse (7,666)
Wave Two 2004Nurse (7,666)
Wave Three 2006Core (9,771)
Wave Three 2006Core (9,771)
Wave Three 2006Life History (7,848)
Wave Three 2006Life History (7,848)
HSE + Nurse2006
HSE + Nurse2006
Wave Four 2008Core Interview
Wave Four 2008Core Interview
Wave Four 2008Nurse Visit
Wave Four 2008Nurse Visit
Interview Content
Household and individual demographics
Health
Social participation
Work and pensions
Income and assets
Housing and consumption
Cognitive function (assessments)
Expectations
Effort and reward (of voluntary work and caring) intro at Wave 2
Psychosocial health
Final questions
Timed walk (assessment)
Self-completion
Nurse Content
Blood pressure
Grip strength
Blood sample (fasting where possible)
Height (standing, sitting)
Weight
Waist and hip measurement
Lung function
Balance
Leg rise
Chair raise
Saliva sample (after visit)
Self-completion on personal beliefs & wellbeing (one in ten households) only Wave 2
Life History
Life History Interview
• Follow up interview at Wave 3
• Asks about childhood and important life events
• Aim to enhance our understanding of how early life and events throughout life impact upon circumstances of older people
• Calendar technique to enhance recall
Topics covered
• Children & fertility
• Partners
• Where lived
• Work history
• Health
• Relationship with parents as a child
• Other important life events
Wave 5
Changes at Wave 5
• Refreshment sample 50-53 years (HSE 2008)
• Module on financial risk taking
Risk• 50-59 year olds - examine choice of pension
schemes and how they plan financially
• Play 14 games - win between £5 and £80 from 1 randomly selected game
• The games measure:• Attitudes towards risk• Willingness to accept a delay in receiving winning
money • How much they regret not making certain choices
Data available
ELSA data in archiveFile Wave 0 Wave 1 Wave 2 Wave 3 Wave 4
Core Data TBA
Nurse Data N/A N/A TBA
Index File Updates TBA TBA
Life History Data N/A N/A N/A N/A
Ryff Self Completion Data N/A N/A N/A N/A
Telephone Interview (with non -responders) Data
N/A N/A N/A TBA TBA
End of Life Interview Data N/A N/A TBA TBA TBA
Financial Derived Variables N/A TBA
Pension Wealth Derived Variables N/A N/A N/A N/A
Pension Grid N/A TBA
Mortgage Data N/A N/A N/A N/A
Mortgage Grid N/A N/A N/A TBA
Technical Report N/A5 TBA TBA
ELSA documentation
Currently archived:
• Complete questionnaires
• Field documents, coding & editing info etc.
• User guides for datasets
Future developments:
• Documentation for Wave 4
• Interactive documentation – also HRS and SHARE
Other data available (not archived)
Geography (Waves 0, 1, 2 & 3)
Wave 2 genetics data
Other non-archived variables
Where to get more info
ELSA website• http://www.ifs.org.uk/elsa
Data and associated documentation• http://www.esds.ac.uk/longitudinal/
ELSA data manager (Susan Nunn)• [email protected]
To contact me...• [email protected]
The English Longitudinal Study of
Ageing (ELSA)