Older people, wellbeing and participation

This participatory research project was carried out by a team of older people, university researchers and a voluntary sector manager. It explored what wellbeing means to older people and how it is generated. We then worked with some members of the research team and statutory and voluntary sector practitioners and trainers to produce a film and a handbook.

Wellbeing has become a high profile issue in contemporary policy and practice. Rather than talking just about ‘improving health’ we are more likely to read about ‘improving health and wellbeing’, and similarly, the notion of ‘welfare’ is now accompanied by ‘wellbeing’: as well as ‘doing well’, the aim should be to ‘be well.’ Wellbeing has been associated with ‘happiness’, with ‘quality of life’ or ‘life satisfaction’. And sometimes it is talked about as ‘subjective wellbeing’ or ‘mental wellbeing.’ So the idea of wellbeing involves how we feel about ourselves and our lives, rather than how our lives might be assessed by others.

The material produced as a result of our research is based not only on what we found out about older people and wellbeing, but what we learnt from working with older people and with practitioners. It draws from different types of knowledge and expertise, but the starting point is what is important to older people.

Download the handbook

Project timeframe

This research project commenced in 2008, publications were produced in 2012/2013 and resources still have ongoing relevance.

Project aims

The overall aim was to produce resources to help those working with older people to develop ethical practice to enhance wellbeing. What this really means is promoting good practice with a heightened awareness of all the things that might be important in enabling people to ‘be well’ as they grow older.

Our research was designed so that older people could talk about what wellbeing means to them, and what helps them experience a sense of wellbeing.

ESRC JPG

ESRC grant number: ES/J001058/1

Older people, wellbeing and participation film

We created this film as a learning resource to be used in conjunction with the Older people, wellbeing and participation handbook. We hope that these materials will be interesting and helpful to anyone working with older people in the statutory or voluntary sector, friends and family of older people or older people who support others close to them.

In our research, we identified many different things that impacted older people's wellbeing. However, the resources focus on two main topics: supporting people in situations that involve them having to make difficult decisions, and caring relationships in which older people are adjusting to changes in the way they can both give and receive care from others.

By using both the handbook and film together, you will access important background material, which will enhance learning and help you to reflect on the questions and prompts that are provided. Our film has been divided into sections focusing on different themes.

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Introduction to wellbeing

The film starts by considering the idea of wellbeing. This section describes the way in which we went about this project and we also reflect on what we have learnt about ethical practice in working with older people collectively in carrying out the research. It introduces ideas about care ethics. You will see members of our research team talking about what they learnt about wellbeing and about their experiences of taking part.

Download the Introduction to wellbeing transcript

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Adjusting to change

In the second film, we meet May, who is in her seventies. May's husband passed away some years ago and she now lives on her own. Recently she has suffered a significant and unexpected life event in the form of a stroke. Here, she meets Ellen, an occupational therapist and together they explore what the impact of this change has meant on May’s life. Sustaining wellbeing in the context of significant life changes is a theme that runs through all parts of these resources.

Download the Adjusting to change transcript

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Living options

In the third film we meet Patrick who is in his nineties. His wife Gillian is currently in hospital following a recent fall and he is increasingly becoming aware that where he and his wife are living is not meeting their needs. With this is mind he has rung Paul, a voluntary sector worker, who he has met before, to discuss the situation.

Download the Living options transcript

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Care and caring relationships

In the fourth film we return to May who is now receiving help and support from Ruth, a worker with a voluntary sector re-enablement service. Ruth has been helping to build May’s confidence since her stroke and wants to enable her to leave the house and enjoy some of the activities she did before. May is finding it hard to adjust to her needs for help. Her son also appears to find it hard to provide help in a way that does not make her feel a 'burden'.

Download the Care and caring relationships transcript

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Making decisions together

In the fifth film we return to Patrick and Gillian who have not been coping as well as they would have liked following Gillian's discharge from hospital. Taking Paul's advice they have contacted Social Services to request a formal assessment. Chloe, a social worker meets them to carry out this assessment. This scenario explores the way in which wellbeing involves making decisions about support and necessary adjustments that work for both partners.

Download the Making decisions together transcript

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Working together with older people

In the sixth film the older people who took part in this research reflect on their experiences. We discuss what we learnt about working with older people to do this research and suggest that this is useful in other contexts where groups of older people come together and share their experience and knowledge to shape services.

Download the Working together with older people transcript

Project findings and impact

The research identified many different things that impacted older people’s wellbeing. But we focused on two main topics for the production of the material:

supporting people in situations that involve them having to make difficult decisions, and
caring relationships in which older people are adjusting to changes in the way they can both give and receive care from others.

The learning resources produced can be used by those providing training for social care and social work practitioners in both statutory and voluntary sectors, and by those providing education in social care 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. And they can also be used by other researchers wanting to research with older people in ways that can contribute to individual and collective wellbeing. We would like to know what you thought about these resources. Please let us know by using our feedback form.

The research continues to have impact on health and wellbeing policies and practices and our insights were featured in the Later Life chapter within the Annual Report of the Director of Public Health 2015/16 (Brighton and Hove).

Download the full report

Download the executive summary

View our chapter on Later Life in the Annual Report of the Director of Public Health 2015/16 (Brighton and Hove).

As time goes by

As a result of the research project above, some of the older people involved in the research decided to produce a booklet for their peers everywhere.

'As Time Goes By…Thoughts on wellbeing in later years' draws on the Older People and Well-being Research Project which was carried out by:

Bunty Bateman, Marion Couldery, Nick Drury-Gorham, Julie Frayne, Jack Hazelgrove, Jeanie Hawkins, Joyce Laverpreddy, Dorothy Lewis, Diana Owen, Liz Ray, Francis Tonks; Beatrice Gahagan, (Age Concern Brighton, Hove and Portslade); as well as Marian Barnes and Lizzie Ward, (School of Applied Social Science, University of Brighton).

The group have tried to gather the main points raised with suggestions of possible solutions, remembering that it was older people themselves who provided the material.