On the 12th of May CABS and the Centre for Policy on Ageing ran a study day that explored methodological and practical issues when user involvement had been achieved through links with existing older people’s organisations and groups.
The day was constructed to critically explore a range of ways in which older people had engaged with research. Julia Johnson started the day by reflecting on her experiences of working with volunteer researchers as part of her work with Sheena Rolph and Randall Smith in which they revisited Peter Townsend's study of residential care for older people. http://www.open.ac.uk/hsc/research/research-projects/the-last-refuge-revisited/the-last-refuge-revisited.php
Bill Bytheway then drew on his experiences of working with older people's groups as part of the RoAD project which investigated how age discrimination is experienced by older people. http://www.open.ac.uk/hsc/research/research-projects/road/home.php
In the afternoon I (Josie Tetley) gave a presentation along Stephanie Warren and Joan Walker from from Age UK Milton Keynes. In our presentation we described how members of Age UK had participated in a European technology project OPT-in. Our presentation can be accessed via the OPT-in project wiki website http://mcl.open.ac.uk/OptIn
The day concluded with a presentation from Jackie and Tony Watts who described the work of Enfield Borough Older People's forum and their European Over 50s project that is campaigning for a higher level of service for older people across Europe. http://www.enfieldover50sforum.org.uk/
http://www.eur50plus.org/
Throughout the day there was lively questioning and discussion amongst participants. It was our first event at The Open University Camden office and whilst there were a few technical issues, the central London location was seen as a positive location for future seminars.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Monday, 11 April 2011
It is a month today since the massive Tohoko earthquake and the shocking tsunami that followed it. Since then there have been almost 400 aftershocks, some of them very large (including one today at 7.1 magnitude) Japan Meterological Agency. The focus of media attention in the west quickly shifted to concerns about the conditions at the Fukushima nuclear power plant and the struggle there to contain leaks. Meanwhile, in north-east Japan, snow and freezing weather hampered relief and recovery efforts. It will come as no surprise that many of the people affected both by the catastrophes and by the difficult conditions of the following days and weeks have been older people: and in spite of a traditional Japanese respect for older people there have inevitably been heartbreaking stories of abandonment and trauma.
Age Scotland - article
The Independent - article
A few years ago, CABS member Bill Bytheway wrote an article about the impact on New Orleans of Hurricane Katrina, the subsequent flooding caused by breaching of the levees, and events during and after evacuation Bill Bytheway on Katrina evacuations. He pointed out that while the victims had often been portrayed as mainly poor and black, in fact age and physical ability were the key issues in survival, and the highest rates of death were among older people in hospital and nursing homes.
Japan has the highest percentage of older people in the world, reflecting a population that has been ageing faster than other developed countries. Over 23% of the population were already over 65 in 2009 (compared with 16% in the UK) - and this is projected to increase to almost 40% by 2050. While most older Japanese people live with someone else (child, spouse, etc) 23% now live alone - and women, especially very old women, are much more likely to live alone than men (ILC Japan data).
Hence Japan takes ageing very seriously as a social reality, just as it takes seriously the seismic reality of its location. While Tohoko 2011 was quite exceptional, I hope that the famous Japanese preparedness for earthquakes and tsunamis will increasingly lead the way on evacuation protocols that work better for older people. It seems to me that the discussion about interdependence posted below by Jill Reynolds is highly relevant here. When taken-for-granted support structures fail, the limitations of 'independence' are all too obvious.
Age Scotland - article
The Independent - article
A few years ago, CABS member Bill Bytheway wrote an article about the impact on New Orleans of Hurricane Katrina, the subsequent flooding caused by breaching of the levees, and events during and after evacuation Bill Bytheway on Katrina evacuations. He pointed out that while the victims had often been portrayed as mainly poor and black, in fact age and physical ability were the key issues in survival, and the highest rates of death were among older people in hospital and nursing homes.
Japan has the highest percentage of older people in the world, reflecting a population that has been ageing faster than other developed countries. Over 23% of the population were already over 65 in 2009 (compared with 16% in the UK) - and this is projected to increase to almost 40% by 2050. While most older Japanese people live with someone else (child, spouse, etc) 23% now live alone - and women, especially very old women, are much more likely to live alone than men (ILC Japan data).
Hence Japan takes ageing very seriously as a social reality, just as it takes seriously the seismic reality of its location. While Tohoko 2011 was quite exceptional, I hope that the famous Japanese preparedness for earthquakes and tsunamis will increasingly lead the way on evacuation protocols that work better for older people. It seems to me that the discussion about interdependence posted below by Jill Reynolds is highly relevant here. When taken-for-granted support structures fail, the limitations of 'independence' are all too obvious.
Friday, 11 March 2011
If we're used to being independent can we do interdependence?
Being independent has a very high value in most western civilisations. Many people hope to remain in their own home in later life - but can promoting independence among adults aged 75+ also create pressures for individuals? Elena Portacolone http://www.elenaportacolone.com/ has some interesting ideas on how older people may find themselves regulated by policies that effectively make independence a moral imperative. For instance requirements in some supportive housing may mean that those residents considered more at risk are debarred. In an article to be published in Ageing & Society Portacolone suggests that more attention to interdependence could be fruitful.
The idea of interdependence certainly has some resonance for me following some interviews I've held with women in a transitional phase of entering retirement. My focus in on the experience of ageing for people without children, and many of the participants in my study are also without current partners. Women who had moved to a new area talked about how they went about making new contacts through pursuing interests such as singing or country walks. One remarked on how during her recent period of illness neighbours had helped out and how she tended to do the same for them 'I realise however independent I am ... we all depend on one another and any of us could be in need of some help at any time'.
I’m wondering what the boundaries are between independence and interdependence. Are they opposites or can one thing shade into the other? Women on their own are often thought of as quite independent. In research on older people, never-married women have been found to have the highest levels of organisational membership (Arber 2004). While being prepared to join could show independence there’s also a strong sign of interdependence there surely? The same category of women also have the highest proportions in residential care (Wenger et al.2000). And while that suggests some dependence – the decision to seek care and support can also signal independence – like Diana Athill opting in a rational way for a life ‘free of worries’.
Perhaps it would be good to independently arrive at a degree of interdependence?
The idea of interdependence certainly has some resonance for me following some interviews I've held with women in a transitional phase of entering retirement. My focus in on the experience of ageing for people without children, and many of the participants in my study are also without current partners. Women who had moved to a new area talked about how they went about making new contacts through pursuing interests such as singing or country walks. One remarked on how during her recent period of illness neighbours had helped out and how she tended to do the same for them 'I realise however independent I am ... we all depend on one another and any of us could be in need of some help at any time'.
I’m wondering what the boundaries are between independence and interdependence. Are they opposites or can one thing shade into the other? Women on their own are often thought of as quite independent. In research on older people, never-married women have been found to have the highest levels of organisational membership (Arber 2004). While being prepared to join could show independence there’s also a strong sign of interdependence there surely? The same category of women also have the highest proportions in residential care (Wenger et al.2000). And while that suggests some dependence – the decision to seek care and support can also signal independence – like Diana Athill opting in a rational way for a life ‘free of worries’.
Perhaps it would be good to independently arrive at a degree of interdependence?
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Hair today, gone tomorrow?
(cc) imakecontent
We were delighted to hear recently that one of CABS' associate members, Dr Richard Ward, now at the University of Manchester, was successful in getting funding from the ESRC for his research about the role of hairdressing in the lives of older people with high support needs. He says:
"The purpose of this research is to explore the role that hairdressing plays in the lives of older people who are high-level users of health and social care. This will include investigating the formal/paid services provided by hairdressers, as well as the styling and management of hair undertaken by care workers. The research will take account of how image and appearance is managed and maintained by older service users, the importance attached to hairstyles in care settings and explore the links between how we look and how we feel.
Existing research has shown that hair is important to our self-image and that hairdressing is associated with improvements to self-esteem, especially for women and that this increases with age. As hairdressing has not been viewed as a crucial feature of health and social care provision it has tended to be overlooked by research. This means little is known about good practice or what potential it has to support positive outcomes for older service users in respect to promoting a positive self-image in the context of deteriorating health and limiting long-term and mental health conditions such as dementia.
The importance of the research is that it will provide evidence and insights to support an on-going debate over how to balance the needs of service users with pressures of time and funding in the organisation of care. It will also help to better understand the importance of the 'body-work' undertaken by care workers and how this work can support positive relationships in care and help to avoid decline, depression and neglect. The research will also have direct benefits to the hairdressing industry as little is currently known about the experiences of care-based hairdressers and how best to support them"
He and one of CABS' core members, Caroline Holland, have an article out in the current issue of the journal Ageing and Society
Ward, Richard and Holland, Caroline (2011). 'If I look old, I will be treated old': hair and later-life image dilemmas. Ageing and Society, 31(02), pp. 288–307.
I'm looking forward to learning more about this neglected topic.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)