Older people, wellbeing and participation

The University of Brighton and Age UK Brighton & Hove have been collaborating on a programme of participatory research since 2007 focusing on experiences of wellbeing and what this means to older people.

This document summarized findings from the project, including learning from the way they worked together and the findings from the wellbeing project to develop good practice in older people's participation and awareness of the factors that contribute to wellbeing in later life.

• Executive summary (pdf 282Kb)

• Full report (pdf 849Kb)

Well-Being and Ageing

Three papers from the Institute for Public Policy Research (UK), look at well-being and ageing.

• Older people and well-being, (2008) the first in the series, describes some of the key social trends in the UK and assesses how these may be impacting on older people and their wellbeing.
• Getting on: well-being in later life, (2009) reviews UK policies for older people and international practice, as well as the priorities of older people in urban versus rural locations. It concludes with recommendations for action, which signal a fresh approach to later life and seek to challenge outdated assumptions.
• Ageing and well-being in an intergenerational context (2009) opens up the policy debates surrounding population ageing beyond the realm of healthcare and pensions. It explores how the well being of older people can be incorporated into four other areas: relationships, work, learning, and the bult environment, and examines policies and programes that have been successful in other counties.

Older Persons and Well-Being

This report, written by Jessica Allen and published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in July 2008. This report is the first in a series of reports on older people and wellbeing. It describes some of the key social trends in the UK and assesses how these may be impacting on older people and their wellbeing.

The report covers: demographic trends, health trends and trends in wellbeing. It also investigates factors which shape wellbeing in older people such as: social exclusion, inequalities in health; relationships and social life, events and transitions in life that can trigger poor mental wellbeing; community participation and protecting wellbeing.

http://www.ippr.org/publicationsandreports/publication.asp?id=620