Who we are, and why this site exists
Understanding Aging publishes open, fully-sourced research on aging, dementia and care in later life — free for anyone to read, cite and reuse.
Run by Rachael and Jim
Understanding Aging is run by the two of us, Rachael and Jim. We have a cottage in Scotland. We research, write and maintain everything here, and when you write to us, one of us replies.
What this site does
A great deal is measured about later life — in NHS and government statistics, peer-reviewed research and charities’ own reporting — and much of it is hard to find, hard to read, or out of date by the time it reaches the people who could use it. We gather it, check each figure against its source, date it, and publish it in plain English.
Our research is organised into libraries, one subject at a time. The first is Dementia & Health, written for dementia charities, carers’ organisations and support groups. It is being researched and checked now, and will be published when every study in it has been through review.
How the research is put together
Published data, not estimates
Figures come from official statistics and peer-reviewed work. Where a figure is contested or a dataset is weak, the study says so rather than picking the number that reads best.
Checked twice
Every figure is checked against the original source when a study is written, and a separate review re-checks the figures at source before it is published.
No number without a date
Each study carries the period its figures cover and when we last checked them.
Free to reuse
Quote it, chart it, put it in a funding bid or a consultation response. A link back is welcome but it is not a condition.
How the site is paid for
We are a commercial business, not a charity, and we would rather you heard that from us than worked it out. The research is free and has no sponsor. It is paid for by referral fees: elsewhere on the site we publish guides to pensions and equity release, and if a reader asks to be put in touch with an adviser, we pass their enquiry to one FCA-authorised adviser firm, which may pay us for that introduction.
We are not an FCA-authorised firm, a financial adviser, a lender or a pension or equity release provider, and we do not give personal financial advice. Nobody who pays us has any say in what our research says, and the research never promotes a product. The full arrangement is set out at the foot of every page and in our terms.
Using and citing the research
Everything in the research hub is free for charities, campaigners, journalists and researchers to read, cite and link to. If you need a figure cut a different way, want the sources behind something, or think we have a number wrong, tell us — corrections are the fastest way to make this more useful.
The research summarises other people’s published work. It is not original clinical research and it is not medical advice. For anything about your own health or care, please speak to a health professional.