Personal information

Social Gerontology, Ageing, Social Exclusion
United Kingdom

Biography

As Professor of Social Gerontology in the Population Health Sciences Institute, I am currently co-director of Newcastle University's Centre for Ageing and Inequalities. I joined Newcastle in 2016, having previously been Director of the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology, NUI Galway, Ireland (2010-15). I completed my undergraduate studies in Combined Honours (German and Politics) at Newcastle University in 1985, before moving on to Aston University where I was awarded a PhD in Political Science in 1990. I have since held teaching and research posts at Bangor University, Keele University and the University of Applied Sciences in Worms, Germany.

From 2019 to 2022, I was President of the British Society of Gerontology. I am a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences and have held visiting professorships at NUI Galway, the University of Manchester, Keele University and the University of Vienna.

Activities

Employment (8)

Newcastle University: Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, GB

2016-01-01 to present | Professor of Social Gerontology (Population Health Sciences Institute)
Employment
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf

Newcastle University: Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, GB

2016-01-01 to 2024-12-31 | Prof of Social Gerontology (Population Health Sciences)
Employment
Source: check_circle
Newcastle University via ORCID Member Portal

National University of Ireland - Galway: Galway, Galway, IE

2010-05-01 to 2015-12-31 | Professor of Social Gerontology (Irish Centre for Social Gerontology)
Employment
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf

Keele University: Keele, Staffordshire, GB

2006-06-01 to 2010-04-01 | Professor of Social Gerontology (Centre for Social Gerontology)
Employment
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf

Keele University: Keele, Staffordshire, GB

2003-09-01 to 2006-05-31 | Reader in Social Gerontology (Applied Social Studies)
Employment
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf

Keele University: Keele, Staffordshire, GB

1998-09-01 to 2003-08-31 | Senior Lecturer in Social Gerontology (Applied Social Studies)
Employment
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf

Keele University: Keele, Staffordshire, GB

1992-09-01 to 1998-08-31 | Lecturer in Modern German Studies (Modern Languages)
Employment
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf

Bangor University: Bangor, Gwynedd, GB

1990-02-01 to 1992-08-31 | Research Officer (Centre for Social Policy Research and Development)
Employment
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf

Education and qualifications (2)

Aston University: Birmingham, Birmingham, GB

1985-09-01 to 1991-06-01 | PhD (Modern Languages)
Education
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf

Newcastle University: Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, GB

1982-10-01 to 1985-06-01 | BA (Hons)
Education
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf

Professional activities (2)

British Society of Gerontology: Pulborough, GB

1990 to present
Membership
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf

Academy of Social Sciences: London, GB

2009
Distinction
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf

Funding (8)

The future of aging in Canada: aligning knowledge, policy and practice with the emerging realities of late life

2014-04-01 to 2015-03-31 | Grant
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Ottawa, CA)
GRANT_NUMBER: 135828
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via DimensionsWizard

Population ageing and Urbanisation: Developing Age-Friendly Cities

2012-08-30 to 2012-10-31 | Grant
Economic and Social Research Council (Swindon, GB)
GRANT_NUMBER: ES/J019631/1
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via DimensionsWizard

Between Conflict and Solidarity: Intergenerational Relations in Recessionary Times

2012-01-01 to present | Grant
Irish Research Council (Dublin, IE)
GRANT_NUMBER:

irc18c048b11e5d898b56cc1abad291a49f

Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via DimensionsWizard

Hidden costs, invisible contributions: aging and caring at risk

2010-04-01 to 2011-03-31 | Grant
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Ottawa, CA)
GRANT_NUMBER: 86844
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via DimensionsWizard

'Poverty and the Lifecourse: Developing Material Deprivation Indicators for a Diverse Older Population in Ireland

2010-01-01 to present | Grant
Irish Research Council (Dublin, IE)
GRANT_NUMBER:

irc81024772931b7a38db99eaa2e58ea0aa

Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via DimensionsWizard

Hidden costs/invisible contributions: caring and aging at risk

2009-04-01 to 2010-03-31 | Grant
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Ottawa, CA)
GRANT_NUMBER: 78017
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via DimensionsWizard

Critical approaches to the study of aging societies: an international initiative

2008-04-01 to 2009-03-31 | Grant
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Ottawa, CA)
GRANT_NUMBER: 61677
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via DimensionsWizard

Promoting independence and social engagement among older people in disadvantaged communities

2008-01-07 to 2011-03-06 | Grant
Economic and Social Research Council (Swindon, GB)
GRANT_NUMBER: ES/F015976/1
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via DimensionsWizard

Works (50 of 71)

Items per page:
Page 1 of 2

Positive health and ageing policies for older Irish travellers and older people who have experienced homelessness in Ireland: Life-course meanings and determinants

Social Science & Medicine
2023-11 | Journal article
Contributors: Brídín Carroll; Kieran Walsh; Thomas Scharf; Diarmuid O'Donovan; Sinéad Keogh
Source: check_circle
Crossref

Older people's lived experience and the World Health Organization age-friendly policy framework: a critical examination of an age-friendly county programme in Ireland

Ageing and Society
2023-08 | Journal article
Contributors: Bernard McDonald; Thomas Scharf; Kieran Walsh
Source: check_circle
Crossref

Intergenerational equity, equality and reciprocity in economically and politically turbulent times: narratives from across generations

Ageing and Society
2022-10 | Journal article
Contributors: Josephine M. Wildman; Anna Goulding; Suzanne Moffatt; Thomas Scharf; Alison Stenning
Source: check_circle
Crossref

HALO: Study protocol for a single-case experimental design study evaluating the moderating impact of a befriending intervention on the association between loneliness and health in older adults

HRB Open Research
2022-01-31 | Journal article
Contributors: Caoimhe Hannigan; Paul Hanly; Frank Kee; Brian Lawlor; Eimile Holton; Cathal Walsh; Thomas Scharf; Robert Coen; Vicky Leatham; Sean Moynihan et al.
Source: check_circle
Crossref

Older Users of a Befriending Service in Ireland and the Maintenance of Personal Autonomy during the COVID-19 Pandemic

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
2021-03-10 | Journal article
Contributors: Eimile Holton; Rachel Fitzpatrick; Rebecca Maguire; Seán Commins; Thomas Scharf; Brian Lawlor; Natalie Johnson; Caoimhe Hannigan; Joanna McHugh Power
Source: check_circle
Crossref
grade
Preferred source (of 2)‎

Connecting at local level: Exploring opportunities for future design of technology to support social connections in age-friendly communities

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
2020 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-85088920019

Part of ISBN:

16604601 16617827

Contributors: Liddle, J.; Pitcher, N.; Montague, K.; Hanratty, B.; Standing, H.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Fifty-Five Years of Research Into Older People's Civic Participation: Recent Trends, Future Directions

Gerontologist
2020 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-85078558152

Part of ISBN:

17585341 00169013

Contributors: Serrat, R.; Scharf, T.; Villar, F.; Gómez, C.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Positive health among older Traveller and older homeless adults: A scoping review of life-course and structural determinants

Health and Social Care in the Community
2020 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-85087169823

Contributors: Cush, P.; Walsh, K.; Carroll, B.; O’Donovan, D.; Keogh, S.; Scharf, T.; MacFarlane, A.; O’Shea, E.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Rural old-age social exclusion: A conceptual framework on mediators of exclusion across the lifecourse

Ageing and Society
2020 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-85068420341

Contributors: Walsh, K.; O'Shea, E.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Digitalising the Age-Friendly City: Insights from Participatory Action Research

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
2020-11-09 | Journal article
Contributors: Arlind Reuter; Jennifer Liddle; Thomas Scharf
Source: check_circle
Crossref
grade
Preferred source (of 3)‎

HALO: Study protocol for a single-case experimental design study evaluating the moderating impact of a befriending intervention on the association between loneliness and health in older adults

HRB Open Research
2020-09-04 | Journal article
Contributors: Caoimhe Hannigan; Paul Hanly; Frank Kee; Brian Lawlor; Eimile Holton; Cathal Walsh; Thomas Scharf; Robert Coen; Vicky Leatham; Sean Moynihan et al.
Source: check_circle
Crossref

Correction to: Social exclusion of older persons: a scoping review and conceptual framework (European Journal of Ageing, (2017), 14, 1, (81-98), 10.1007/s10433-016-0398-8)

European Journal of Ageing
2019 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-85050673365

Contributors: Walsh, K.; Scharf, T.; Keating, N.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Loneliness amongst older people in Europe: a comparative study of welfare regimes

European Journal of Ageing
2019 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-85052967765

Contributors: Nyqvist, F.; Nygård, M.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Older voices: Supporting community radio production for civic participation in later life

Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings
2019 | Conference paper
EID:

2-s2.0-85067628716

Contributors: Reuter, A.; Bartindale, T.; Morrissey, K.; Scharf, T.; Liddle, J.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Creating an age-friendly county in Ireland: Stakeholders’ perspectives on implementation

Age-Friendly Cities and Communities: A Global Perspective
2018 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-85045592910

Contributors: McDonald, B.; Scharf, T.; Walsh, K.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Series editors’ preface

Age-Friendly Cities and Communities: A Global Perspective
2018 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-85088772468

Contributors: Phillipson, C.; Calasanti, T.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Series editors’ preface

Age-Friendly Cities and Communities: A Global Perspective
2018 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-85045606216

Contributors: Phillipson, C.; Calasanti, T.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Enhancing Home Health Mobile Phone App Usability Through General Smartphone Training: Usability and Learnability Case Study

JMIR Human Factors
2018-04-26 | Journal article
Contributors: Richard Harte; Tony Hall; Liam Glynn; Alejandro Rodríguez-Molinero; Thomas Scharf; Leo R Quinlan; Gearóid ÓLaighin
Source: check_circle
Crossref
grade
Preferred source (of 2)‎

Intergenerational learning: collaborations to develop civic literacy in young children in Irish primary school

Journal of Intergenerational Relationships
2018-04-03 | Journal article
Contributors: Marie Hanmore-Cawley; Thomas Scharf
Source: check_circle
Crossref
grade
Preferred source (of 2)‎

Aging in a difficult place: Assessing the impact of urban deprivation on older people

New Dynamics in Old Age: Individual, Environmental and Societal Perspectives
2017 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-85082572619

Contributors: Scharf, T.; Phillipson, C.; Smith, A.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Flying Under the Radar? Risks of Social Exclusion for Older People in Rural Communities in Australia, Ireland and Northern Ireland

Sociologia Ruralis
2017 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84971432090

Contributors: Warburton, J.; Scharf, T.; Walsh, K.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Meals on wheels: A community-led approach and stakeholder analysis

Social Marketing: Rebels with a Cause, Third Edition
2017 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-85050242933

Contributors: Fitzgerald, C.; Domegan, C.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Older people in urban neighbourhoods: Addressing the risk of social exclusion in later life

Social Networks and Social Exclusion: Sociological and Policy Perspectives
2017 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-85071645623

Contributors: Scharf, T.; Smith, A.E.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Series editors' preface

Gender, Ageing and Extended Working Life: Cross-National Perspectives
2017 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-85086058888

Contributors: Phillipson, C.; Calasanti, T.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Series editors' preface

Gender, Ageing and Extended Working Life: Cross-National Perspectives
2017 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-85040936778

Contributors: Phillipson, C.; Calasanti, T.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Social exclusion of older persons: a scoping review and conceptual framework

European Journal of Ageing
2017 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84991088827

Contributors: Walsh, K.; Scharf, T.; Keating, N.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Human-Centered Design Study: Enhancing the Usability of a Mobile Phone App in an Integrated Falls Risk Detection System for Use by Older Adult Users

JMIR mHealth and uHealth
2017-05-30 | Journal article
Contributors: Richard Harte; Leo R Quinlan; Liam Glynn; Alejandro Rodríguez-Molinero; Paul MA Baker; Thomas Scharf; Gearóid ÓLaighin
Source: check_circle
Crossref
grade
Preferred source (of 2)‎

Enhancing Home Health Mobile Phone App Usability Through General Smartphone Training: Usability and Learnability Case Study (Preprint)

2017-03-19 | Other
Contributors: Richard Harte; Tony Hall; Liam Glynn; Alejandro Rodríguez-Molinero; Thomas Scharf; Leo R Quinlan; Gearóid ÓLaighin
Source: check_circle
Crossref

A Human-Centered Design Methodology to Enhance the Usability, Human Factors, and User Experience of Connected Health Systems: A Three-Phase Methodology

JMIR Human Factors
2017-03-16 | Journal article
Contributors: Richard Harte; Liam Glynn; Alejandro Rodríguez-Molinero; Paul MA Baker; Thomas Scharf; Leo R Quinlan; Gearóid ÓLaighin
Source: check_circle
Crossref

Series preface

Ageing in Sub-Saharan Africa: Spaces and Practices of Care
2016 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-84988600703

Contributors: Phillipson, C.; Calasanti, T.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

A multi-stage human factors and comfort assessment of instrumented insoles designed for use in a connected health infrastructure

Journal of Personalized Medicine
2015 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-85019482472

Contributors: Harte, R.; Quinlan, L.R.; Glynn, L.; Rodriguez-Molinero, A.; Scharf, T.; Carenas, C.; Reixach, E.; Garcia, J.; Carrabina, J.; ÓLaighin, G.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Between inclusion and exclusion in later life

Ageing Through Austerity: Critical Perspectives from Ireland
2015 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-84979030762

Contributors: Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Rural ageing in farm communities in Ireland: Changing agricultural resources - changing lives

Ageing Resource Communities: New Frontiers of Rural Population Change, Community Development and Voluntarism
2015 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-84960489333

Contributors: Walsh, K.; O'Shea, E.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Rural and Urban ageing

Routledge Handbook of Cultural Gerontology
2015 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-84941272902

Contributors: Edmondson, R.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

‘Emergent reconstruction’ in grounded theory: Learning from team-based interview research

Qualitative Research
2015 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84961291197

Contributors: Conlon, C.; Timonen, V.; Carney, G.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

'Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt': Solidarity between generations in the Irish crisis

Critical Social Policy
2014 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84903958484

Contributors: Carney, G.M.; Scharf, T.; Timonen, V.; Conlon, C.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Consumption of care and intergenerational relations in the Irish context

Families, Relationships and Societies
2014 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84944416016

Contributors: Conlon, C.; Timonen, V.; Scharf, T.; Carney, G.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Exploring the age-friendliness of purpose-built retirement communities: Evidence from England

Ageing and Society
2014 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84906813344

Contributors: Liddle, J.; Scharf, T.; Bartlam, B.; Bernard, M.; Sim, J.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Exploring the impact of informal practices on social exclusion and age-friendliness for older people in rural communities

Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology
2014 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84891939952

Contributors: Walsh, K.; Oshea, E.; Scharf, T.; Shucksmith, M.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Poor health and loneliness in later life: The role of depressive symptoms, social resources, and rural environments

Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
2014 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84894255788

Contributors: Burholt, V.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Women (Re)Negotiating Care across Family Generations: Intersections of Gender and Socioeconomic Status

Gender and Society
2014 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84911984163

Contributors: Conlon, C.; Timonen, V.; Carney, G.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Community-based participatory action research: Opportunities and challenges for critical gerontology

Ageing, Meaning and Social Structure: Connecting Critical and Humanistic Gerontology
2013 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-84978448700

Contributors: Ziegler, F.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Experiences of neighbourhood exclusion and inclusion among older people living in deprived inner-city areas in Belgium and England

Ageing and Society
2013 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84870585954

Contributors: Buffel, T.; Phillipson, C.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Family, state, class and solidarity: Re-conceptualising intergenerational solidarity through the grounded theory approach

European Journal of Ageing
2013 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84881028159

Contributors: Timonen, V.; Conlon, C.; Scharf, T.; Carney, G.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Imagery and imaginary of islander identity: Older people and migration in Irish small-island communities

Journal of Rural Studies
2013 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84874750464

Contributors: Burholt, V.; Scharf, T.; Walsh, K.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Ageing in changing community contexts: Cross-border perspectives from rural Ireland and Northern Ireland

Journal of Rural Studies
2012 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84880515069

Contributors: Walsh, K.; O'Shea, E.; Scharf, T.; Murray, M.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Ageing in urban environments: Developing 'age-friendly' cities

Critical Social Policy
2012 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84867245358

Contributors: Buffel, T.; Phillipson, C.; scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Exploring community perceptions of the relationship between age and social exclusion in rural areas

Quality in Ageing and Older Adults
2012 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84886944984

Contributors: O'Shea, E.; Walsh, K.; Scharf, T.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

From exclusion to inclusion in old age: A global challenge

From Exclusion to Inclusion in Old Age: A Global Challenge
2012 | Book
EID:

2-s2.0-85031813876

Contributors: Scharf, T.; Keating, N.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier

Home From Home? A Mixed-Methods Study of Relocation Within a Purpose-Built Retirement Community

Journal of Housing for the Elderly
2012 | Journal article
EID:

2-s2.0-84871097265

Contributors: Sim, J.; Liddle, J.; Bernard, M.; Scharf, T.; Bartlam, B.
Source: Self-asserted source
Thomas Scharf via Scopus - Elsevier
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Peer review (2 reviews for 2 publications/grants)

Review activity for European journal of ageing. (1)
Review activity for Nature aging. (1)