Gerontology Research
|MPhil/PhD
|Part Time, Full Time
The Ageing & Society research group investigates the factors leading to better physical, mental and social health in later life, and how health and social services throughout the course of life can be optimised to improve health and well-being at older ages.
We examine how societal, political and policy changes in work and family life have affected intergenerational relations and the lives of older people. We investigate how governments should be preparing for the rapid ageing of populations around the world, and how these changes in family and community structures impact on support, housing, health and care in later life, particularly in societies with little institutional protection for older people.
After finishing her PhD in Sociology (specialising in demography) at the Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Karen Glaser came to Britain and worked with Professors Emily Grundy and Mike Murphy on the ESRC-funded project ‘Intergenerational Relationships and Household Change’.
Although her PhD focused on the fertility consequences of cohabiting unions in Costa Rica, she developed a long-standing interest in the family lives of older people through her work on this latter project. She went on to combine her interests in ageing, family structure, marriage and cohabitation, examining them from an international comparative perspective.
Karen Glaser has been in an academic teaching position at the Institute of Gerontology since 1999. Her main research interests continue to centre on the family lives of older people and on exploring the long-term impact of partnership and parenthood histories for support, health and well-being in later life across a variety of settings: the UK, Southern Europe and Latin America.
Karen is interested in supervising PhD students in the following areas:
- family support at older ages (eg living arrangements and instrumental assistance including care) including international comparative studies
- investigations of the link between marital status and well-being in developed and developing countries in later life (eg protective effects of marriage)
- life course influences on well-being in later life.
Prospective students interested in working in these areas should look at the Institute's PhD admissions web page.
Following a career in nursing, Karen completed a PhD in Medical Sociology at Royal Holloway, University of London, focusing on how adults with cystic fibrosis and their family members perceive and manage the disease and its treatment.
She joined King’s College London in 2001, initially working in the Department of Palliative Care & Policy, School of Medicine, where she undertook research into primary and secondary school teachers’ management of bereaved children. During this time, Karen also studied how families of young adults who had died from cystic fibrosis experienced end-of-life care and bereavement.
During a lectureship in Nursing (2003-2006) Karen continued to investigate issues affecting young people with cystic fibrosis by examining young people’s and healthcare staff’s expectations and experiences of transition care from paediatric to adult services.
Karen joined the Institute of Gerontology in 2006. Her main research interests continue to centre on ‘new’ ageing populations – ie those reaching midlife with traditional diseases of conditions of childhood, exploring health and social concerns, family care, and service use.
Karen’s research interests centre on health perceptions and management, and healthcare services for populations with non-traditional conditions, and those with chronic disease. Her broad range of research interests include:
- Formal and informal provision and understanding of end-of-life care for those with non-malignant disease
- health, social and family care for those populations who traditionally did not survive childhood
- multiprofessional working in healthcare
- interdisciplinary working within and across organisations in health and social care
- using qualitative research methods.
Funded research projects
- adult survivors of childhood liver transplant: personal narratives of an emerging ‘new’ ageing population
- the new ageing populations: mapping identities, health, needs and responses across the lifecourse
- improving the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable older people through professional integration of falls and accidental domestic fires risk assessments
Karen is interested in supervising PhD students in the following areas:
- health and healthcare in ageing populations (eg chronic disease, transition services, multiprofessional working
- investigations of health, social and family concerns arising in ‘new’ ageing populations (eg adults with cystic fibrosis, adult congenital heart disease, older adults with Down’s syndrome
- interdisciplinary working to improve health and wellbeing of older community-dwelling adults.
Prospective students interested in working in these areas should look at our PhD admissions web page.
Karen is currently supervising or co-supervising three research students working in the broad areas of health and health service interventions in later life.
Karen Lowton is Programme Director for the Intercalated and Postgraduate Taught Programmes in the Institute and coordinates the Institute’s contribution to medical student education at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College Hospital, and University Hospital Lewisham. Students may register for the award of Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or Master's degree throughout all postgraduate taught programmes offered by the Institute, enabling eligible students from a wide range of backgrounds to study the medical, social, economical and financial issues surrounding ageing and older people.
