Exploring health and social care preferences of older people
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A longitudinal in-depth interview study exploring health and social care preferences of the oldest old
IRAS ID
300477
Contact name
Lucy Robinson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 10 months, 1 days
Research summary
The importance of people's wishes guiding their health and social care is becoming increasingly recognised by the public, health and social care organisations and the professionals who work for them. This concept of person-centred care is important from the beginning to the end of our lives.
What research has already shown is that often our wishes are not fixed and may change for a variety of reasons. So that healthcare professionals can support people to talk about their preferences for if they become more unwell or for end of life care, it is necessary for us to understand how and why these wishes change over time. One population where we know less about this is older people, particularly those over the age of 85 with frailty or several different illnesses where the "end of life" phase can be difficult to identify. The aim of this project is to explore why preferences for care and treatment change over time for older people with frailty, including any wishes for end of life care.
To achieve this aim we will talk to people about their wishes for health and social care now and in the future in a research interview. We will then ask them to take part in up to two follow up interviews to see how their preferences change and why. Participants will be over the age of 85 and identified by their GP practice using a frailty score calculated from their electronic healthcare record. We will analyse the interviews looking for common themes which help us to understand how and why preferences change or stay the same. We want to use this knowledge to help healthcare professionals support people to discuss their wishes and to plan healthcare services that meet older people's changing needs and preferences.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/YH/0172
Date of REC Opinion
29 Sep 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion