Convenor: Costanzo Ranci, Politecnico di Milano

In the last decade, the most common strategy adopted in many European countries to deal with the care deficit has been ‘ageing in place’. However, ageing in place has many limitations. It requires an adequate housing context and the existence of an active informal social network. Moreover, it brings about substantial risks for frail older people themselves, including the risk that permanence at home may increase their social and spatial isolation. Effective measures should be therefore developed to protect frail older people from these risks and to guarantee them the best possible quality of life and care as they age.
This symposium is aimed to present and discuss the main results of a research carried out in 2019-2021 in Italy about ageing in place. Three papers based on empirical research will be presented: the first is about the relationship between frailty and risk of loneliness; the second one explores the care arrangements of frail older people living alone; and the third addresses the housing and living conditions of such people. All these papers are based on 120 interviews of frail older people living alone in different contexts (urban/rural contexts; northern/southern areas). Based on these contributions, the symposium will start a debate about loneliness and frailty in older age, and policies addressing the care needs of people experimenting such situation. Two international scholars are invited to open the discussion on such issues.

Program:

• Marco Arlotti and Stefania Cerea, Frailty and loneliness among older people living alone
• Giovanni Lamura, Gabriella Melchiorre, Care arrangements of frail older people living alone in Italy
• Flavia Martinelli, Antonella Sarlo, Francesco Bagnato, Time and space in care

Discussants. Tine Rostgaard and Margarita Leon (to be confirmed)