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 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 ‘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 Exploring factors that impact the decision to use assistive telecare: perspectives of family care-givers of older people in the United Kingdom

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 1912-1932 ◽  
Author(s):  
ERICA J. COOK ◽  
GURCH RANDHAWA ◽  
ANDY GUPPY ◽  
CHLOE SHARP ◽  
GARRY BARTON ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Older People ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Care Givers ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Service Framework

ABSTRACTIn the United Kingdom (UK), an ageing population met with the reduction of social care funding has led to reduced support for older people marked with an increased demand on family care-givers. Assistive telecare (AT) devices are viewed as an innovative and effective way to support older people. However, there is limited research which has explored adoption of AT from the perspectives of family care-givers. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 family care-givers of patients who used the Assistive Telehealth and Telecare service in Cambridgeshire, UK. Family care-givers were either the spouse (N = 8) or child of the patient (N = 6). The patients' age ranged from 75 to 98, and either received a telecare standalone device or connected service. Framework analysis was used to analyse the transcripts. This study revealed that family care-givers play a crucial role in supporting the patient's decision to adopt and engage with AT devices. Knowledge and awareness, perceived responsibility, usefulness and usability, alongside functionality of the equipment, were influential factors in the decision-making process. AT devices were viewed positively, considered easy to use, useful and functional, with reassurance of the patient's safety being a core reason for adoption. Efforts to increase adoption and engagement should adapt recruitment strategies and service pathways to support both the patient and their care-giver.

Psychiatry of old age and ethnic minority older people in the United Kingdom

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit Shah
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Older People ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Secondary Care ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Psychiatric Morbidity ◽  
Ethnic Minority Groups ◽  
The United Kingdom

SummaryThis review examines the demographic changes, the epidemiology of mental disorders and suicides, the potential risk and protective factors, access to secondary care old age psychiatry services (OAPSs) and the policy context pertaining to older people from ethnic minority groups in the United Kingdom. The number of older people from ethnic minority groups is increasing. The prevalence of mental disorders in older people from ethnic minority groups is either similar to or higher than that in the indigenous population. Therefore, the number of older people from ethnic minority groups with psychiatric morbidity is also increasing. Ethnic minority older people also have inequity of access to secondary care OAPSs. There is an urgent need to develop and implement practical strategies to improve access by older people from ethnic minority groups to OAPSs.

Multi-disciplinarity, user engagement and the design of special programmes of ageing research in the United Kingdom

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 727-760 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER LANSLEY
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Older People ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Programme Implementation ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Ageing Society ◽  
Ageing Research ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
And Diffusion

ABSTRACTSince 1997 ageing research in the United Kingdom (UK) has been promoted through a series of research council special programmes with an emphasis on multi-disciplinary, collaborative, user-focused research. There has been notable progress and substantial setbacks, especially a major lull in activity, and strong disciplinary biases in later programmes. Skills, expertise and influence on policy and practice, developed through early programmes, have been lost. Two philosophies of programme management have emerged: a top-down approach to the development of priorities and activities, largely reflecting a linear model of research, development and diffusion; and, a bottom-up approach strongly influenced by the priorities of users including older people, which has emphasised the role of problem-solving and social interaction between researchers and users. A comparison of these two philosophies highlights factors which contribute to successful programme implementation and valuable outcomes for society at large. These emphasise: involvement of all potential users; encouragement of champions; supporting researchers at all stages in their careers; transparency in communicating intent, progress and achievements; varied and robust knowledge transfer; and, above all else, understanding the challenges faced by individuals as they grow older. Future programmes would be assured of making significant contributions to supporting older people and an ageing society if those commissioning the programmes recognised the importance of these factors and accepted the consequent challenges for the organisation of the programmes.

scholarly journals The Myth of Old Age: Addressing the Issue of Dependency and Contribution in Old Age Using Empirical Examples From the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
pp. 136078042093773
Author(s):  
Jeroen Spijker ◽  
Anna Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
Population Ageing ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Media ◽  
Over Time

In academia, policy-making and the media, population ageing often has negative connotations: it is associated with a rising care burden on society, with dependency, and with a fear of social isolation. The concepts pertaining to old age have evolved over time, and some of them challenge criticize this popular perception. This article begins with an overview of the development of social attitudes towards old age. Then, with the help of publicly available UK data, it addresses three areas in which old age and population ageing is perceived as problematic: poor health, dependency on other people’s productivity, and the role older adults play in the care cycle. Due to the diversity of the population aged 65+, we question the necessity of distinguishing older people in terms of age or dependency and instead recommend more research into the heterogeneity of the older population.

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

The ‘loneliness pandemic’: implications for gerontological nursing

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 652-655
Author(s):  
Carlos Laranjeira
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Gerontological Nursing

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled states to limit free movement, in order to protect at-risk and more vulnerable groups, particularly older adults. Due to old age or debilitating chronic diseases, this group is also more vulnerable to loneliness (perceived discrepancy between actual and desired social relationships) and social isolation (feeling that one does not belong to society). This forced isolation has negative consequences for the health of older people, particularly their mental health. This is an especially challenging time for gerontological nursing, but it is also an opportunity for professionals to combat age stereotypes reinforced with COVID-19, to urge the measurement of loneliness and social isolation, and to rethink how to further adjust interventions in times of crisis, such as considering technology-mediated interventions in these uncertain times.

scholarly journals The media image of Chinese older people: From stigmatic stereotype to diverse self-representation

2021 ◽  
pp. 205943642110125
Author(s):  
Kun Li
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Media Image ◽  
Past Life ◽  
The Media ◽  
Leisure And Recreation ◽  
Chinese Older People

From the perspective of communication and media studies, this article explores a comparison between the image of older adults presented on media and online self-representation facilitated by the use of smartphones. The qualitative textual analysis was conducted with a sample (228 posts, from 1 January to 31 December,2019) selected from a representative WeChat Public Account targeting at older adults in China. The results demonstrate that leisure and recreation is the most frequently mentioned topic (58%) with memories of past life receiving the least references (3%). The striking features of popular posts among older people include a highly emotional tone, bright colours and multimedia. Sentiment analyses shows 68.42%, 13.16% and 18.42% of positive, neutral and negative emotions, respectively. A generally positive attitude of self-representation is in a sharp contrast with the stigmatic media image of older adults. The article concludes that the visibility of Chinese older people may help to reduce the stigma surrounding old age in China.

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