Author: Suzanne Byers
Byers, Suzanne, 2023 The utility of a network typology in understanding the help-seeking behaviours in older rural Australians, Flinders University, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
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The importance of social relationships to older people’s health has been long understood. In the gerontological literature, and in Australian policy for older people, social isolation is recognised as a health risk, and social connectedness as a health benefit.
Research has shown that while social networks can evolve and change over time due to the inherent nature of networks, the key features of older people’s social networks are shaped by personal circumstances and events over the life course. That is, the type of family and community a person is born into usually influences pathways to education, work and wealth, inherent fertility may impact decisions regarding marriage and children, and migration patterns in retirement may strengthen or disrupt social ties and connections. Research has also shown that access to social support depends on both the nature of the social relationships that exist within the social network, and the proximity in which people live to each other. Older people with more limited access to social support are often more vulnerable to poorer health outcomes.
For older people living in rural settings there is the additional challenge of the economic diversity and heterogeneity of their communities. The availability of local amenities, the scope of work opportunities, and the level of educational opportunities for younger and working age people, are all contributing factors to the sustainability of rural communities. A better understanding of an older person’s network of social support can assist in both improving health outcomes for an individual, and contribute to service planning and social policy for older rural people more broadly.
The Australian research outlined in this thesis tested the application of a validated instrument - the Wenger Practitioner Assessment of Network Type - in determining the social support networks of older people living in the East Gippsland region of Australia. This research found the Wenger Support Network Typology to be effective in an older rural Australian population, with research participants able to be broadly grouped into five distinct support network types. This knowledge was used to understand how older rural people accessed social support from within their social networks when they needed it. This study also explored the network characteristics of the Australian Wenger Support Network Typology, and found that, while families continued to play a pivotal role in providing support and social connection for many older Australians, good relationships with both friends and neighbours were important for morale and social support in older age.
This research generated a new version of the validated Wenger Practitioner Assessment of Network Type instrument tailored for an Australian audience, and highlighted and discussed the strengths of a novel Australian postal delivery methodology in building a rigorous community sample. It is hoped that this research will assist in health and human services planning for older people living in rural Australian communities. Importantly, this research has shown how service providers and policy makers can use network typing to better inform service provision and social policy, for both older people now and into the future.
Keywords: Older people, older rural people, ageing, support networks, network typology, support network typology, Wenger network typology
Subject: Ageing Studies thesis
Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2023
School: College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Supervisor: Anita de Bellis