Living Conditions of Elderly People in Denmark, 1962-1977

The main purpose of the survey was to provide an up-to-date analysis of the living conditions of elderly Danes. The survey examines the changes over a 15-year period in Denmark by means of comparisons between survey results obtained in 1962 and in 1977, and it also includes a comparative analysis of the living conditions of elderly people in Denmark in 1977 and in the USA in 1975 as well as of changes of living conditions in the two countries during the period 1962 to 1977 (USA: 1975). #The data material was collected through interviews with a nationwide, representative sample of 2500 people aged 62 or more and living in private households. The interviews provided information about such aspects of the life of elderly people as work and retirement, health, resourcefulness and independence (being self-supporting), family and social contacts, and financial situation. Similar interviews were made in 1975 in the USA, and both questions, coding and tables were identical for both surveys. The surveys which were carried out in the two countries in 1962 were also made comparable. #In addition to the interview surveys, detailed information was obtained about the need for, the use and the knowledge of social service schemes among elderly people in Denmark; and on the basis of data from the consumption survey, 1977 (carried out by Danmarks Statistik) an analysis was made concerning the consumption patterns, the property and the saving up of elderly people