scholarly journals Constructing and negotiating social participation in old age: experiences of older adults living in urban environments in the United Kingdom

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Woolrych ◽  
Judith Sixsmith ◽  
Jenny Fisher ◽  
Meiko Makita ◽  
Rebecca Lawthom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Outdoor Spaces ◽  
Community Facilities

Abstract The age-friendly cities and communities movement has focused on how to better support older adults to age well within urban environments. Central to ‘ageing well’ and ‘active ageing’ agendas is ensuring that older adults can participate in meaningful forms of social participation. The benefits of social participation in old age have been well documented, and research amongst community-dwelling older adults has explored some of the neighbourhood qualities that facilitate or impede such forms of engagement. However, understandings of how older adults construct and negotiate social participation within everyday urban environments have been largely unexplored. To address this gap, we present results from 104 interviews conducted with older adults living in three cities and nine neighbourhoods in the United Kingdom (UK). The findings explore three themes generated from the research: ‘constructing meaningful social participation in old age’, ‘negotiating access to social participation’ and ‘navigating home and community’. Across these themes, the paper describes how experiences of social participation in old age involve a number of inter-connected physical, psychological and social processes experienced by individuals across a range of environmental settings including the home, outdoor spaces and community facilities. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the findings for practice, specifically in the delivery of age-friendly communities.

scholarly journals Ageing in Urban Neighbourhoods: Exploring Place Insideness Amongst Older Adults in India, Brazil and the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-223
Author(s):  
Ryan Woolrych ◽  
Jamuna Duvurru ◽  
Adriana Portella ◽  
Judith Sixsmith ◽  
Deborah Menezes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Older People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Sense Of Place ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Urban Neighbourhoods

The ageing in place agenda emphasises the importance of supporting older adults to age in their communities surrounded by the personal resources to age well. In exploring the relationship between older people and their environment, the concept of place insideness is seen as central to constructing feelings of identity, belonging and attachment in old age. Yet there has been little research exploring how older adults experience place insideness across different urban, social and cultural contexts which is an impediment to identifying effective interventions for age-friendly cities and communities. This article explores how place insideness is experienced amongst older adults across India, Brazil and the United Kingdom. The article presents qualitative findings from 294 semi-structured interviews collected across 9 cities and 27 neighbourhoods. The findings reveal that older adults cultivate their sense of place insideness in old age through dimensions of physical insideness (i.e., environmental competence in navigating and engaging in the community), social insideness (i.e., knowing others) and autobiographical insideness (i.e., shared place histories). In drawing on older people’s understanding of their communities, this article explores the opportunities and challenges in developing a sense of place insideness to support ageing well. We identify implications for policy and practice in terms of how we can better design urban environments as age-friendly communities which support a greater sense of place for older people.

scholarly journals ‘You really do become invisible’: examining older adults’ right to the city in the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Deborah Menezes ◽  
Ryan Woolrych ◽  
Judith Sixsmith ◽  
Meiko Makita ◽  
Harry Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
World Health ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The City ◽  
Rights To The City

Abstract A global ageing population presents opportunities and challenges to designing urban environments that support ageing in place. The World Health Organization's Global Age-Friendly Cities movement has identified the need to develop communities that optimise health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. Ensuring that age-friendly urban environments create the conditions for active ageing requires cities and communities to support older adults’ rights to access and move around the city (‘appropriation’) and for them to be actively involved in the transformation (‘making and remaking’) of the city. These opportunities raise important questions: What are older adults’ everyday experiences in exercising their rights to the city? What are the challenges and opportunities in supporting a rights to the city approach? How can the delivery of age-friendly cities support rights to the city for older adults? This paper aims to respond to these questions by examining the lived experiences of older adults across three cities and nine neighbourhoods in the United Kingdom. Drawing on 104 semi-structured interviews with older adults between the ages of 51 and 94, the discussion centres on the themes of: right to use urban space; respect and visibility; and the right to participate in planning and decision-making. These themes are illustrated as areas in which older adults’ rights to access and shape urban environments need to be addressed, along with recommendations for age-friendly cities that support a rights-based approach.

scholarly journals Corrigendum to ‘Responses to an acellular pertussis booster vaccination in children, adolescents, and young and older adults: A collaborative study in Finland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom’

EBioMedicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 103420
Author(s):  
Pauline Versteegen ◽  
Marta Valente Pinto ◽  
Alex M. Barkoff ◽  
Pieter G.M. van Gageldonk ◽  
Jan van de Kassteele ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Collaborative Study ◽  
Booster Vaccination ◽  
The United Kingdom

scholarly journals The Effects of Technological Interventions on Social Participation of Community-Dwelling Older Adults with and without Dementia: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2308
Author(s):  
Pascale Heins ◽  
Lizzy M. M. Boots ◽  
Wei Qi Koh ◽  
An Neven ◽  
Frans R. J. Verhey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Methodological Quality ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Technological Interventions ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

Social isolation in community-dwelling older adults with dementia is a growing health issue that can negatively affect health and well-being. To date, little attention has been paid to the role of technology in improving their social participation. This systematic review aims to provide a systematic overview of the effects of technological interventions that target social participation in community-dwelling older adults with and without dementia. The scientific databases Medline (PubMed), PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched and independently screened by two reviewers. Results were synthesized narratively. The methodological quality of included studies was independently assessed by two reviewers. In total, 36 studies of varying methodological quality were identified. Most studies evaluated social networking technology and ICT training programs. Three studies focused on people with dementia. Quantitative findings showed limited effects on loneliness, social isolation, and social support. Nevertheless, several benefits related to social participation were reported qualitatively. Social interaction, face-to-face contact, and intergenerational engagement were suggested to be successful elements of technological interventions in improving the social participation of community-dwelling older adults. Rigorous studies with larger sample sizes are highly needed to evaluate the long-term effects of technology on the multidimensional concept of social participation.

Patient and carer participation in old age psychiatry in England. Part II: models of participation

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Mary Benbow
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
National Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Old Age ◽  
National Health ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Old Age Psychiatry

ABSTRACTBackground: There are a number of models of patient and carer participation. Their usefulness and applicability to old age psychiatry is considered.Methods: Models of participation are reviewed and related to examples of participation initiatives drawn from the author's work in the context of the National Health Service in the United Kingdom.Results: Models of participation which emphasize collaboration and partnership are found to be useful. Simple interventions such as copying letters to patients and/or carers can lead to change in the balance of power between staff and patients/carers. Initiatives which draw on the experiences of patients and carers can facilitate organizational learning and development. Involving patients and carers in education offers a way to influence services and the staff working in them.Conclusion: Participation is better understood as a spectrum rather than a hierarchy. Old age psychiatry services would benefit from developing greater patient and carer participation at all levels.

scholarly journals Likelihood of Participation in Home-Based Cognitive Assessment: The Role of Subjective Cognitive Decline and Age

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 293-294
Author(s):  
Moriah Splonskowski ◽  
Holly Cooke ◽  
Claudia Jacova
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Cognitive Assessment ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive State ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Increased Risk

Abstract Home-based cognitive assessment (HBCA) services are emerging as a convenient alternative to in-clinic cognitive assessment and may aid in mitigating barriers to detecting cognitive impairment (CI). It is unknown which older adults would be likely to participate in HBCA. Here we investigated the role of age and Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD). SCD has demonstrated an increased risk for progression to CI/dementia. A nation-wide community-dwelling sample of 494 adults age 50+ were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk to complete an online survey assessing perceptions around HBCA and SCD. Our sample was 91.9% White and 66.8% female. It consisted of 174 respondents aged 50-60, 265 aged 61- 70, and 55 aged 71-79. Age groups were comparable with respect to their acceptance of cognitive assessment (Range 4-20, higher score=higher acceptance, 7.9±3.3, 8.15±3.2, 8.05±3.43) and SCD-Q total (43.1±5.8, 43.2±5.7, 43.3±5.7). Correlation analysis revealed a relationship between SCD-QSCD total and perceived likelihood of participation in HBCA for those ages 61-70 (r(263) = .222 p = .000), but not for ages 50-60 or 71-79 (r(172) = .102 p = .152; r(53) = -.102 p = .458). Our findings suggest that SCD influences the likelihood of participation in HBCA for older adults’ transitioning to old age (61-70). Findings show that for adults transitioning into old age (61-70), perceived cognitive state influences their likelihood of participation in HBCA. Importantly, concerns about CI/dementia may generate more favorable perceptions of HBCA for this group.

scholarly journals Frailty Is Associated With Neutrophil Dysfunction Which Is Correctable With Phosphoinositol-3-Kinase Inhibitors

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 2320-2325
Author(s):  
Daisy Wilson ◽  
William Drew ◽  
Alice Jasper ◽  
Helena Crisford ◽  
Peter Nightingale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Systemic Inflammation ◽  
Kinase Inhibitors ◽  
Frailty Index ◽  
Neutrophil Migration ◽  
Neutrophil Function ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Neutrophil Dysfunction

Abstract Neutrophil dysfunction has been described with age, appears exaggerated in infection, with altered phosphoinositol signaling a potential mechanism. However, functional aging is heterogeneous. Frailty is a negative health status and is more common in older adults. We hypothesized that neutrophil migration may be compromised in frailty, associated with the degree of frailty experienced by the older person. We compared measures of frailty, neutrophil function, and systemic inflammation in 40 young and 77 older community-dwelling adults in the United Kingdom. Systemic neutrophils exhibited an age-associated reduction in the accuracy of migration (chemotaxis) which was further blunted with frailty. The degree of migratory inaccuracy correlated with physical (adjusted hand grip strength) and cognitive (Stroop test) markers of frailty. Regression analysis demonstrated that age, Charlson comorbidity index, and frailty index were able to predict neutrophil chemotaxis. Reduced chemotaxis of neutrophils from frail adults could be reversed using selective PI3K inhibitors. Exposure of neutrophils from young adults to plasma from chronically inflamed frail older adults could not recapitulate the migratory deficit in vitro, and there were no relationships with systemic inflammation and neutrophil dysfunction. Frailty exaggerated the neutrophil deficits seen with advanced age but aspects of the frailty-associated deficit in neutrophil function are rescuable and thus potentially form a therapeutic target to improve outcomes from infection in older adults.

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