Mobility of Older Women and Men at Transition from a Two Person Household to a One Person Household

This paper reports on a study from 2008 of overall mobility patterns among older people and the mobility patterns of those in transition from a two person household to a one person household. The purpose of the study was to explore the mobility patterns of those in transition from a two-person household to a one-person household in relation to the overall patterns of mobility of the older people. The data was collected by questionnaires to 5000 randomly selected older people in Skane and Ostergotland counties in Sweden. The respondents were asked to state their use of different transport modes and value the necessity of different transport modes for everyday activities. Those in transition from a two person household to a one person household were also asked to compare their everyday mobility before and after the transition. The results show that there are changes connected to the transition from a two person household to a one person household, and this particularly among the very old. The changes seem to affect these people’s lives in several aspects, partly in relation to the usage of transportation modes and partly in relation to outdoor mobility.