The health and well-being of Jewish people aged 65 to 85 years living at home in the East End of London

Relatively little is known about what has been termed cultural gerontology, or the experience of ageing among members of particular ethnic minority groups. One of the greatest gaps in current knowledge relates to the subjective health status and use of health services among elderly people in ethnic minorities, particularly those who are Jewish. The research results reported here are from a survey of elderly people in City and Hackney, London, of whom 16% were Jewish. They show that Jewish respondents were more likely than other elderly people to report problems with emotional well-being, with mental and physical health and with functional ability (tasks of daily living). Jewish respondents were also more likely to use services, particularly health services, than other respondents. The associations with service use generally remained after health status had been controlled for.