Wellbeing of Older People: Latvian Population Survey, November - December 2019

The purpose of the study: to study the well-being of older people (50 years and older) in Latvia and their participation in the labour market and social life.
Major investigated questions: respondents were asked how they would describe their health status. In a block of questions, they were asked about the difficulties they have in the activities due to health problems (difficulties in seeing, even if they wear glasses, in hearing, even if they use a hearing aid, etc.; a total of 6 questions). They were asked if they had any chronic physical or mental health problems, diseases, or disabilities. They were also asked if there were any activities that the respondents were unable to perform independently and without assistance in the past month. Those who were unable to do so were asked who helped them with these activities. Next, respondents were asked to rate the financial situation of the household. They were asked how safe or unsafe they felt in the area where they lived. Respondents' trust in various groups of people (family, neighbours, personal acquaintances, etc.; a total of 6 groups) was measured. Professionals and retirees were asked how often they had personally experienced poor physical working conditions, excessive work intensity, etc. at their current/last job (a total of 5 questions). Respondents were asked if they intended to stop working immediately upon retirement. This was followed by a block of statements that allowed respondents to assess the working conditions that would or would not encourage them to continue working after retirement (a total of 7 statements). Respondents were asked whether they had participated in higher education, vocational or general education in the last 12 months, and whether they had attended courses, workshops, theoretical seminars, etc., or received on-the-job training. They were asked if they had helped anyone in the last month who was not a relative of the respondent without financial compensation. A block of questions asked how often they had participated in social activities in the last 12 months (a total of 8 activities). With regard to the past 6 months, respondents were asked to describe their relationship with others living in the household. Respondents were asked if there was at least one person in their household with whom they could talk openly about important issues. All respondents rated the frequency and type of communication they had with people (a total of 6 types) not living in the household with them in the past 12 months. Next, respondents rated statements about various experiences (a total of 6 statements) and a sense of need (by family, people in the neighbourhood, etc.; a total of 3). They were asked how often they use the Internet. Those who use the Internet were asked to indicate on which topics they used the Internet at least once (independently). They were then asked if they voted in the national election, if they followed their country's news on the listed channels in the last 7 days (a total of 4 channels), and if they participated in social and political activities (a total of 8 forms). Respondents were asked how often they had experienced negative situations in the past 12 months in public places or institutions because of their age (a total of 3 situations). Those who had experienced such situations were asked to be more specific about where they had encountered negative attitudes toward older people. Satisfaction with the accessibility and quality of public health services was also assessed. It was asked whether respondents or people close to them had used long-term care services (a total of 4 types). It also examined what benefits respondents or people living in the household had received at least once in the past 12 months. They were asked if they had provided material support to at least one of their parents (or that of their spouse/partner) and children in the past 6 months. On the contrary, respondents were asked whether they themselves had received support from the listed individuals. A block of questions asked how often respondents engaged in activities outside of paid work (a total of 5 questions). In a block of questions at the end of the survey, respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with various areas of life (living conditions, financial situation, etc.; a total of 13 questions).
Socio-demographic characteristics: household size, family relations, average family (household) income per month, financial situation of the household, main activity, total years of service, number of children and grandchildren, gender, settlement size, age, marital status, whether born in Latvia, legal status when living in Latvia, Latvian language skills, education.