Ageing in place successfully
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Ageing in place successfully: exploring factors which facilitate and hinder independent living with increasing age
IRAS ID
308499
Contact name
Katie Brittain
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle University
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
Remaining at home is considered important by many older people. This is because being at home provides people with a sense of independence and important links to their local community, or ‘place’. However, as people age their care needs change. Their home may need adapting, they may need to be supported by formal or informal carers or they may need to relocate to a different place altogether, for instance, a care home. As a result, older people’s homes can change from something which feels familiar and comfortable to a place where the delivery of health and social care takes priority.
This study aims to explore in detail ageing in place. It will identify different contexts, such as access to finances, cultural norms and geographic factors which restrict or enable people to grow old independently in their own home. It will also explore the role that health and social care interventions play, including assistive technologies, in people’s experience of ageing at home.
There is a lack of research which explores how older people experience changing care in their later years and it is not clear why some older people are able to remain at home while others aren’t.
Up to 40 participants aged 80 years and over will be recruited from two GP practices in the North East of England: an inner city area of Newcastle upon Tyne and a coastal area of Northumberland. A researcher will visit participants at home between 3 and 5 times over a period of approximately two years (March 2022-May 2024). During visits, interviews and observational fieldwork will be conducted with participants. The lengthy research period will allow for a deep understanding about how participants’ experiences change as their care needs change.
Findings will inform best practice for supporting older people to remain in place.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0073
Date of REC Opinion
8 Apr 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion