Research

Being well in old age

Published 28 January 2013

What enables people to sustain wellbeing as they grow older and face the challenges associated with ageing? A new set of resources based on research with older people is being launched with the aim of transforming learning and practice.

Many people are living longer and it is becoming ever more important to understand how to ensure that old age is a good time of life. The Older People, Well Being and Participation resources, to be launched at Age UK's headquarters in London on 28 January, are based on participatory research by a team of older people working with colleagues from Age UK Brighton and Hove and the University of Brighton. It enabled older people to talk in their own terms about what wellbeing means to them.

A report on the research and a booklet written by older people As Time Goes By (2.3Mb pdf), which draws on the findings to offer suggestions about how people might think about sustaining wellbeing as they grow older, were published last year. Now an online film and accompanying handbook based on the research are being launched. The film contains acted scenarios to illustrate how social care workers might help people think through some of the challenges they face as they grow older. It highlights the way in which people need to adapt to changes taking place in their lives and the decisions they need to make as a result. It also explores the way in which family relationships, relationships with others both giving and receiving care, impact well-being.

Professor Marian Barnes, professor of social policy at the University of Brighton, said the resources also highlight the value of participatory research and of older people's participation in shaping policies and services. Older people who took part in the research talk about their experiences and what they contributed to and learnt from this.

She said the resources will be valuable for social care and social work training in statutory and voluntary sectors, and can be used in colleges and universities. They can also be used by groups of staff wanting to reflect on their own practice, and by older people's groups who are campaigning for improved services.

Professor Barnes said: "The research identified a range of factors that impact well-being: from relationships, including fleeting ones like exchanges in shops; caring for others; being able to enjoy their physical environment, to being respected and treated as an individual in care settings. It also highlighted the need for a new care ethic focused on qualities such as attentiveness and responsiveness to older people and emphasised the importance of involving older people in decisions that affect them.

"The resources are not a 'how to do it' guide, but a resource that will help people reflect on things that are important to all of us as we grow older."

Clive Newton, Age UK's National Development Manager – Care & Communities said: "These learning resources and the research on which they are based are important because they involve older people as peer researchers who have genuinely co-produced the outputs. It's also very relevant to our work because of its focus on well-being: what it means and how it can be sustained; and how it's located in a social context, rather than simply being an attribute of individuals. We are supporting this work because not only are the products they've come up with very useful (including to local Age UKs) but the process has been exemplary, both in terms of genuine co-production with older people and in terms of a highly effective, long-lasting, partnership between an Age UK and a university."

The launch event today includes a showing of highlights from the film, produced by Loaded Productions, and a Q&A discussion. The resources have been developed with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.

Here is a clip of the Older People, Well Being and Participation film:

You can see more of the film on the School of Applied Social Science website.