Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) Covid-19 study can be seen as a follow-up study based on the sample of the regular ELSA study (held under SN 5050). ELSA was launched in 2002 with the primary objective of exploring ageing in England through the operationalisation of a longitudinal design, where repeated measures are taken over time from the same sample of study participants, composed of people aged 50 or above. After the beginning of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak at the end of 2019, its classification as global pandemic by the World Health Organisation in March 2020 and the gradual escalation of protective measures in the UK, culminating with the enforcement of a nation-wide lockdown in late March, the ELSA research team identified the need to carry out a new ad-hoc study that measures the socio-economic effects/psychological impact of the lockdown on the aged 50+ population of England. Further information can be found on the ELSA COVID-19 Study webpage. Acknowledgment statement: The ELSA COVID-19 Substudy was funded through the Economic and Social Research Council via the UK Research and Innovation Covid-19 Rapid Response call. Funding has also been received from the National Institute of Aging in the US, and a consortium of UK government departments coordinated by the National Institute for Health Research. Latest edition information For the third edition (February 2022), revised data files for Waves 1 and 2, with corrected serial numbers (variable idauniq), were deposited. The documentation remains unchanged.Special Licence version of the ELSA COVID-19 studyAdditional variables covering interview week are available under SN 8918, subject to stringent Special Licence access conditions. Users should check whether the standard End User Licence version (this study, SN 8688), is sufficient for their needs before making an application for the Special Licence version. Health conditions research with ELSA - June 2021 The ELSA Data team have found some issues with historical data measuring health conditions. If you are intending to do any analysis looking at the following health conditions, then please contact elsadata@natcen.ac.uk for advice on how you should approach your analysis. The affected conditions are: eye conditions (glaucoma; diabetic eye disease; macular degeneration; cataract), CVD conditions (high blood pressure; angina; heart attack; Congestive Heart Failure; heart murmur; abnormal heart rhythm; diabetes; stroke; high cholesterol; other heart trouble) and chronic health conditions (chronic lung disease; asthma; arthritis; osteoporosis; cancer; Parkinson's Disease; emotional, nervous or psychiatric problems; Alzheimer's Disease; dementia; malignant blood disorder; multiple sclerosis or motor neurone disease).
Main Topics:
Topics covered in the ELSA COVID-19 study include: Demographics Mental health Financial security Covid-19-related health Employment and work Financial situation Volunteering and care Physical health and health behaviours Social connection isolation and technological inclusion Income, pensions and retirement For a full table of topics and questions covered across all the ELSA waves, see the all-waves user guide in the main study (SN 5050) documentation.
Multi-stage stratified random sample
Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)
Telephone interview: Computer-assisted (CATI)
