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SHARE is a research infrastructure which provides information about health, ageing and retirement in Europe.

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About SHARE

The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) is an ESFRI (European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures) infrastructure for studying the effects of health, social, economic and environmental policies over the life-course of European citizens and beyond.

The survey was first conducted in 2004 in 11 countries. Currently, the survey is carried out in 28 European Union countries and Israel.

Latvia joined the SHARE project in 2017. The fieldwork in the 7th and 8th stages (2017–2021) was financed by the Commission's Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.

Since 2021, the fieldwork is financed from the state budget program of the Ministry of Education and Science. At the European level, the implementation of the project is monitored and coordinated by the Munich Center for the Economics of Aging in Germany.

SHARE data are available to the entire research community free of charge. Please read the Conditions of Use.
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Data Use

Data from the SHARE studies are currently used by more than 13,600 researchers worldwide, and each subsequent stage of the study provides new insights, as ageing should be studied over a long period of time. The data obtained in the SHARE study are available free of charge for registered researchers. Data can be used for scientific purposes without any restrictions.

  • To access the data obtained in the study, please read the terms of use and fill in the form available here. Data are only available after receipt of documents and successful registration. Application for approval must be sent to the SHARE Research Data Centre (CentERdata, Netherlands)
  • You should log in to the SHARE study data centre website after receipt of confirmation by entering your username and password. You can use the obtained username and password to access all data published on the SHARE website

The results of the survey may be used in science and politics to help find solutions to issues related to social security and healthcare. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic has used the data obtained in the SHARE study to prepare a law on long-term care by analysing the data associated with early retirement and employment among people over the age of 50. In France, the information obtained in the study was used to establish the proportion of citizens having functional restrictions and requiring accommodation with special adaptation.

At the international level, the data obtained in the SHARE project are used by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Health Organisation and the World Bank. For instance, the World Bank has used the collected data to identify migration flows between Germany and Turkey, and between France and Morocco.

In the European Union, several commissions use the data obtained in SHARE surveys in their studies, e. g.:

  • researchers from the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs use the data obtained in the SHARE survey to get additional information on long-term expenditures on retirement pensions and healthcare
  • researchers in the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety use the data obtained in the SHARE survey to develop a set of health indicators. The set of indicators is developed using the indicators of demographic, social and economic situation, health condition and their determinant factors. SHARE data are also used to calculate healthy life expectancy
  • The Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion uses the findings obtained in the SHARE study to prepare a report on employment and social growth in Europe

Publications

More than 3600 publications based on SHARE data have been published worldwide. Although Latvia is a relatively new member of SHARE and the first data collection in Latvia took place in 2017, Latvian researchers also use SHARE data and publish research results.

  • Miķelsone, M., Reine, I., Tomsone, S., Guðmundsson, H., Ivanovs, A., & Guðmundsson, H. S. (2023). Construction of healthy aging index from two different datasets. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, Article 1231779. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1231779
  • Reine, I., Reine, A., Ivanovs, A., Kairys, A., Sigurður Guðmundsson, H. S. G., Koroļeva, I., Miķelsone, M., Kuļigina, N., Rajevska, O., Zamalijeva, O., & Tomsone, S. (2023). Intergenerational Solidarity in the Nordic and Baltic Regions. In A. Klimczuk (Ed.), Intergenerational Relations - Contemporary Theories, Studies and Policies [Working Title] ( IntechOpen Book Series). IntechOpen. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.1003076
  • Reine, I., Miķelsone, M., Guðmundsson, H., Ivanovs, A., Tomsone, S., & Guðmundsson, H. S. (2023). Loneliness, social isolation and ageing: a methodological approach to compare Latvian and Icelandic older populations in the course of COVID-19 pandemic. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2870118/v1
  • Bukova-Zideluna A., Reine I., Baltmane D. (2023). Association between access to healthcare And health during covid-19 among the elderly in Latvia. Medicina (Kaunas); 59 (Supplement 2):752 https://rw2023.rsu.lv/sites/default/files/documents/MEDICIN…
  • Rajevska, O., Reine, A., Baltmane, D., Gehtmane-Hofmane, I. (2022). Older workers in the Baltic states over the pandemic year: SHARE Corona Survey results. 23nd International Scientific Conference "Economic Science for Rural Development 2022": Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference (pp. 339-348). (ECONOMIC SCIENCE FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT ; No. 56). DOI - 10.22616/ESRD.2022.56.033, https://llufb.llu.lv/conference/economic_science_rural/2022…
  • Rajevska, O., Reine, A., & Baltmane, D. (2022). Impact of the first wave of COVID-19 on the employment of older people in Latvia, the Baltic States and Europe. SHS Web of Conferences, 131, [1005]. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202213101005
  • Miķelsone, M., Reine, I., Baltmane, D., Ivanovs, A., & Tomsone, S. (2022). Comparison of intrinsic capacity factors in older individuals before and during COVID-19 in the context of healthy ageing in Baltic Countries. SHS Web of Conferences, 131, [1004]. https://www.shs-conferences.org/articles/shsconf/pdf/2022/0…
  • Reine, I., Miķelsone, M., Ivanovs, A., & Tomsone, S. (2022). Access to healthcare during COVID-19 among ageing population in Latvia. SHS Web of Conferences, 131, [1008]. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202213101008
  • Reine, I., Reine, A., Aleksandrovs, A., Ivanovs, A., Baltmane, D., Balodis, G., Gehtmane-Hofmane, I., Koroļeva, I., Mieriņa, I., Miķelsone, M., Rajevska, O., & Sniķere, S. (2021). Sabiedrības veselības politikas rekomendācijas gados vecāku cilvēku populācijai Latvijā: COVID -19 seku mazināšana. VPP-COVID-2020: pētījuma pārskats
  • Zamalijeva, O., Kairys, A., Miķelsone, M., & Reine, I. (2021). Current Individual and Retrospective Factors Associated with Lifelong Learning among 50-64 Year Olds in the Baltic States. Pedagogika, 144(4), 69-87. https://doi.org/10.15823/p.2021.144.4, https://ejournals.vdu.lt/index.php/Pedagogika/article/view/…
  • Rajevska, O., Reine, A., & Baltmane, D. (2021). Employment in the Age Group 50+ in the Baltic States and its Changes in Response to COVID-19. In A. Auzina (Ed.), 22nd International Scientific Conference "Economic Science for Rural Development 2021": Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference (pp. 594-603). (ECONOMIC SCIENCE FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT ; No. 55). Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies. https://doi.org/10.22616/ESRD.2021.55.061
  • Reine, I., Ivanovs, A., Mieriņa, I., Gehtmane-Hofmane, I., & Koroļeva, I. (2021). Overcoming Social Isolation with Digital Technologies Among Ageing Populations During Covid-19. Society. Integration. Education=Sabiedrība. Integrācija. Izglītība, 4, 171-178. https://doi.org/10.17770/sie2021vol4.6356
  • Mieriņa, I., & Reine, I. (2021). Why did they need to come now? COVID-19 Crisis Strains Relationships with Returning and Visiting Compatriots. Society. Integration. Education=Sabiedrība. Integrācija. Izglītība, 6, 160-171. https://doi.org/10.17770/sie2021vol6.6266
  • Miķelsone, M., Baltmane, D., Reine, I., Sniķere, S., Ivanovs, A., & Tomsone, S. (2021). Exploration of healthy ageing determinants in the Baltic States. Society. Integration. Education=Sabiedrība. Integrācija. Izglītība, 4, 414 -427. http://journals.ru.lv/index.php/SIE/article/view/6431/5146
  • Koroļeva, I., Sniķere, S., Aleksandrovs, A., Reine, I., Trapencieris, M., & Ivanovs, A. (2021). Effects of social isolation on mental health during Covid-19 in the context of ageing. Society. Integration. Education=Sabiedrība. Integrācija. Izglītība, 6, 104-117. https://doi.org/10.17770/sie2021vol6.6421
  • Reine, I., & Čama, E. (2020). Personality traits and engagement in activities - predictors of life satisfaction for ageing persons. European Journal of Public Health, 30(Supplement 5), [ckaa166.309]. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaa166.309
  • Reine, I., Miķelsone, M., & Ivanovs, A. (2021). Use of digital health-care services during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemics among ageing population in Latvia. 70. Abstract  from RSU Research week 2021: Society. Health. Welfare, Rīga, Latvia.
  • Koroleva, I., Sniķere, S., Aleksandrovs, A., Reine, I., Ivanovs, A., & Gehtmane-Hofmane, I. (2021). The mental health of the elderly population throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia: the role of social and support networks. 178. Abstract  from RSU Research week 2021: Society. Health. Welfare, Rīga, Latvia.

SHARE Latvia research staff