AGE-INCLUSIVE SERVICES: What do older people want, and how do we know?

AGE-INCLUSIVE SERVICES:What do older people want, and how do we know? Dr Caroline Holland The Open University UK IFA 11th Global Conference on Ageing - 28 May-1 June 2012 Prague

Age-inclusive services • Age and ‘being older’ • Services for older people • Services for everyone than need to take older people into account • Services by older people

The right to being heard • The right to be heard - and the responsibility to listen • Who is asking for this research, and why? • Listening into action

Collaborative projects at The Open University, working with: • ‘Soon-to-be older’ people: Jewish communities in the south of England • Older people with high support needs – around England and Scotland • Older people living with dementia – post-discharge from hospital in central England • Older people engaging with new technologies – central England

Project: Extra Care housing and older Jewish residents in SE England • 16 focus groups with 105 participants – to elicit a collective response from as big a group as possible within the scope of the funding • Ages: middle age upwards, aiming for a mix • Varying religious observance (except ultra-orthodox) • Commissioned by a consortium of charities to help establish direction of future service provision • Some key ‘wants’: continuity of self identity; communality and sociability; practicality/space; sustainability/affordability; religious comfort ;

Project: ‘A Better Life: what older people with high support needs value’ • Interviews with 26 men and women with ‘high support needs’ with diverse conditions/living arrangements/demographic characteristics/locations • Ages: 40 – 93 years (mainly older: some younger) • ‘Not the usual suspects’ (hard to reach?) • Commissioned by a campaigning charity with its own equality agenda to help build a campaign • Some key ‘wants’: human relationships; a meaningful life; continuity of self; very specific small matters of preference; access to support including technologies and carers

Project: ‘What happens to people identified with dementia in general hospital?’ • A two-stage investigation of people living with dementia + their proxy (carer): 112 cases (and a sub-group of 15 moving directly to Care Home) • Mixed methods: multiple measures/economic analysis/qualitative interviews • Ages: average late-80s • Commissioned and supported by national activist charity to plug a gap in knowledge/improve provision • Some key wants: relationships (continuity; security) (carers – information, support, resources)

Project: Older people and technological inclusion (Opt-in) • Hands-on workshops and demonstrations with small groups of older learners from England, Scotland, Netherlands, Germany, Slovenia: UK group c.10 – able to take part in cultural exchanges – interviewed • Ages ‘middle-aged’ to 80s • Funded by EU Grundtvig Life-long learning programme: promoting economic and cultural cohesion • Some key ‘wants’: utility; enjoyment; appropriate support to access; finance

Methods and intentions • Extra Care – focus groups ‘collective opinion’ • OPHSD – guided (open) interviews: ‘eliciting authentic voice’ • PLWD – measures and interviews ‘eliciting direct experience’ • Technology – workshops ‘eliciting perspectives’ (and prompting experimentation)

experience – perspectives – opinion – voice mediated by: purpose –questions –method- sampling - analysis – interpretation impact affected by: government/funder/PI influence - media - incorporation - action But we have: • multiple perspectives and voices • multiple purposes, methods and interpretations • uneven impact and action

From the multiple voices in the four projects: • continuity of self identity; communality and sociability; practicality/space; sustainability/affordability; religious comfort • human relationships; a meaningful life; continuity of self; very specific small matters of preference; access to support including technologies and carers • relationships; continuity; security (carers – information, support, resources) • utility; enjoyment; appropriate support to access; finance relationships – meaning – support

Working towards some principles? Equal – or fair?: • inclusion for all – our collective voices • inclusion for me – my voice • consider ‘age’ Transparency of method Transparency of ‘listener’ Defending inclusion

Thank you • http://carolineholland.weebly.com • c.a.holland@open.ac.uk

AGE-INCLUSIVE SERVICES: What do older people want, and how do we know?