Brisbane researchers are seeking local participants for a study to consider how people’s daily activity changes after retirement.
Dr Nicola Burton, Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Research on Exercise, Physical Activity and Health (CRExPAH) at The University of Queensland believes that changes in everyday activities and time use can have a major impact on health and wellbeing in retirement.
“When people reduce or stop work, they need to renegotiate how they spend their day, which in turn can enhance or compromise health and wellbeing,” Dr Burton said.
“While the financial implications of retirement are obvious, little is known about how people reschedule their day when they stop working.”
Preliminary results suggest that in the first three months after retirement, people spend more time on domestic chores, watching television and sleeping.
Time spent on physical activity, socialising, and reading is relatively constant while less time is spent on public transport and walking for transport.
“We need to do more work and over a longer timeframe to confirm these initial results and, even more importantly, to understand the impact of these changes on enjoyment, health and wellbeing in retirement.”
People who are over 50 years of age, and intending to retire before August 2013 and remain in the Brisbane area are invited to participate in the study which will involve four contacts over 12-18 months.
Each contact will involve a questionnaire, two telephone interviews and wearing a movement monitor for a week.
Participants will be given $100 of gift vouchers in appreciation of their time and effort.
For more information, please email lifeafterwork@hms.uq.edu.au or telephone 07 3365 6981.
Contact: Janelle Hocking, Marketing and Communications, UQ School of Human Movement Studies, +61 7 3365 6764 or j.hocking1@uq.edu.au
