Eastleigh Good Neighbours Survey Report

Eastleigh Good Neighbours Survey 13 November 2014

By Neil Cotton Commissioned by One Community & Eastleigh Good Neighbours

One Community, 16 Romsey Road, Eastleigh SO50 9AL Tel 023 8090 2400 Email info@1community.org.uk Web www.1community.org.uk Registered charity number 1052978 Registered in England as company limited by guarantee, number 3132524 Eastleigh Good Neighbours Tel 023 8064 2420 Email eastleighgoodneighbours@hotmail.co.uk Web www.eastleighgoodneighbours.org.uk 1

Eastleigh Good Neighbours Survey 13 November 2014

Introduction The Eastleigh Good Neighbours Group survey took place in the summer of 2014. A short questionnaire was developed on the topic of social activities and was issued to people who had had involvement with the Eastleigh Good Neighbours Group along with an introductory letter and a pre-paid envelope for a return of the forms. In total 88 completed questionnaires were received.

Age of respondents In total 48 respondents provided an indication of their age. These respondents ranged from 56 to 92 with an average age of 80.8 years old.

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Age of Respondents

6 5 4 3 2 1 0 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94

Marital status: Respondents were also asked their marital status. In total 86 respondents provided an answer, with the largest proportion, 48%, reporting that they are widowed. The second highest proportion, 28% reported their marital status as being married while 16% were divorced.

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Marital Status of Respondents 2% 6% 16%

Single Married

28%

Widowed

Divorced No answer 48%

Living alone: Just over two-thirds of respondents reported that they live alone. Although living alone does not necessarily mean a person experiences loneliness, or social isolation, living alone has been implicated in a considerable amount of research as being a risk factor for loneliness and social isolation in later life.

Living alone/ Living with others 2%

30%

Live Alone Live with others 68%

No answer

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Accessing the community: Respondents were asked which forms of transport they were able to use to access the community. This revealed that the most widely used form of transport among respondents was community transport which 66% reported using. When asked to specify which community transport service they used 46 respondents (out of the 58 respondents who used community transport) indicated they used the Good Neighbours Group, whilst 23 reported using dial-a-ride or another service.

Per cent of respondents who reported ability to use type of transport to access the community Community Transport

66%

Taxi

50%

Lifts from Others

44%

Bus

35%

Walking

27%

Own Car

11% 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Comparatively few respondents, just 11%, reported using their own car to access the community, whilst 27% reported walking to access the community.

Number of times per week meeting others socially: In order to assess respondent’s levels of social activity they were asked “How many times per week do you meet other people socially?� All 88 respondents provided an answer. The single highest category was twice per week, with 25 respondents indicating this was the frequency with which they met other people socially. In total 58 respondents, or 66%, meet other people socially at least twice per week, however, 14 respondents reported not meeting other people socially at all, and 16 only once per week. This may suggest that although the majority of respondents enjoy an active social life there is a significant number who are at risk of loneliness and isolation.

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Number of times per week respondents report meeting other people socially 30 25 25 20

18 16

15

15

14

10 5 0 0

1

2

3

4+

Satisfaction As loneliness is regarded as a subjective measure (i.e. for some people they may prefer their own company, or be content to only meet people socially on infrequent occasions whilst others may be extremely unhappy with this). A follow up question was to gauge a person’s satisfaction with the frequency at which they met other people socially.

Self-reported level of satisfaction with frequency of meeting other people socially 35

30 25

27

29

21

20 15 10

5

5

5

1

0 Very satisfied

Satisfied

Neither Satisfied nor dissatisfied

Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

No answer

This reveals that only a small number of respondents reported being either dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied with the number of times they met other people 5

socially each week. The largest group – some 29 people – however, indicated that they were Neither satisfied, nor dissatisfied.

When looked at in combination with the reported frequency of meeting people socially a clear pattern is evident. Taking those who reported meeting other people socially at least four times per week, 89% were either very satisfied, or satisfied, while just 21% of those who met no people socially per week reported being very satisfied, or satisfied.

Proportion of respondents Very satisfied or satisfied with the number of times per week with which they meet other people socially 100 90

89%

80 67%

70

56%

60 50 40

31%

30

21%

20

10 0 4+

3

2

1

0

Reported number of times (per week) meeting other people socially

At the other end of the scale the relationship appears less clear-cut. Though possibly at least partly due to the relatively low numbers who reported being very dissatisfied, or dissatisfied, this suggests there may be an element of complexity in terms of how individuals regard their situation. It would still appear however, that people who report a higher frequency of meeting others socially are less likely to report dissatisfaction.

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Proportion of respondents Very dissatisfied or dissatisfied with the number of times per week with which they meet other people socially 20

19%

18 16

14%

13%

14

12%

12 10 8 6 4 2

0%

0 4+

3

2

1

0

Reported number of times (per week) meeting other people socially

Comparing groups: Making a comparison of those reporting either a high, or low, frequency of meeting other people socially it would appear that one of the key differences between the groups is the proportion who live alone. 80% of those reporting meeting other people socially no more than once a week reported living alone, compared to 61% of those who reported meeting other people at least three times per week. A higher number of people in the latter group also reported being able to access the community using their own car.

Number Average age Widowed Living alone Own Car Community Transport

0 -1 30 79.6 43% 80% 10% 63%

3 - 4+ 33 80.9 45% 61% 18% 67%

A similar pattern can be observed if we compare respondents who were either satisfied, or very satisfied, with the number of times per week they met others socially and those who were either dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied – though as there were relatively few people in the latter group it is much harder to draw a robust comparison.

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Very dissatisfied & dissatisfied 10 75.7 20% 70% 10% 80%

Number Average age Widowed Living alone Own Car Community Transport

Very satisfied & satisfied 48 83.0 50% 60% 15% 67%

Activities: Respondents were provided with a short list of activities and asked to select those they were interested in. In total 84 respondents completed this section. The most popular activities were days out to places of interest and trips to garden centres.

Respondents also had an opportunity to make other suggestions, with several taking the opportunity to do so. These suggestions included: cafĂŠs, coach trips, theatre trips, cribbage, social activities (i.e. bingo, education course, discussion, crafts), visiting the shops in Southampton, letter writing, new technology, gardening and sightseeing in the country.

Number of respondents expressing an interest in type of activity Days out to places of interest

48

Garden Centres

47

Luncheon Club

25

Museum CafĂŠ

18

Others

13

None

13 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Comparing the preferences of those who report meeting other people socially no more than once per week and those who meet others socially at least three times per week it is possible to see some small difference in preferences; chiefly those in the 0-1 group appeared more likely to select trips to the museum cafĂŠ and were more likely to select alternatives not listed.

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Proportion of respondents indicating preference for taking part in activity according to number of times meeting other people socially per week 55% 57%

Days Out

52% 50%

Garden Centres 18%

Museum CafĂŠ

Luncheon Club

30%

3 - 4+

30%

0-1

23% 6%

Others

20% 15% 17%

None 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Frequency of activities: The next question asked respondents the frequency with which they would like to take part in any additional activities. This response appeared to be quite mixed, whilst 18 respondents indicated they did not wish to take part in any additional activities at all.

Of the remainder there appeared to be a preference for additional activities on either a weekly or monthly basis.

Preference for frequency of activities 25

21 18

20 15

18 12

10

10 5

8

1

0 Twice a week

Weekly

Fortnightly Monthly

Less than once a month

Not at all No answer

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Financial contribution: Lastly a question on financial contribution towards any activities was included.

Respondents were asked “If any activities required a financial contribution how much do you feel you would be able to afford on a weekly basis?” In total there were 75 responses to this question (two respondents did not select an option, but indicated that they would be prepared to pay the actual cost of any activity).

If any activities required a financial contribution how much do you feel you would be able to afford on a weekly basis?

30 24

25 20

17

15 11

12

10 5

4 2

3

0 Unable to afford

Less than £1.00-2.49 £2.50-4.99 £5.00-7.49 £7.50-9.99 £1

£10 +

The results from this suggest there is some degree of clustering around a figure of £2.50–4.99 per week. It is worth nothing however, that of the six who stated they were unable to afford a contribution, or could afford less than £1, four reported meeting other people socially no more than once per week, whilst none reported meeting people socially any more than twice a week.

Neil Cotton 13 November 2014

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This questionnaire has been developed to help us find the kind of services people may benefit from. The information you provide will be used to enable us to plan and improve the services we offer

Age:

Marital status: Single

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

Do you?

Live alone

Live with others

Which types of transport are you able to use to access the community?

(Please tick all that apply)

Own car

Bus

Taxi

Walking

Lifts from others

Community transport (e.g dial-a-ride/ good neighbour group – please specify below)

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How often (if at all) would you like to take part in any additional social activities?

Less than once a month

Monthly

Fortnightly

Weekly

Twice a week

More than twice a week

Not at all

If any activities required a financial contribution how much do you feel you would be able to afford on a weekly basis?

Unable to afford

less than £1

£1.00-2.49

£2.50-4.99

£5.00-7.49

£7.50-9.99

£10 and above

You have reached the end of the survey. We would like to thank you for your assistance. Eastleigh Good Neighbours may like to contact you with information on services which they offer, if so would you be happy to receive any further contact?

Yes

No

If yes please can you provide an address, telephone number, or email with which you would prefer to be contacted

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