Healthy Ageing in Residential Places (HARP)

The World Health Organisation defines active ageing as allowing 'people to realise their potential for physical, social and mental well-being throughout the life course and to participate in society, while proiding them with adequate protection, security and care when they need'. Most government and community approaches focus mainly on keeping people out of long term residential care, even thought many people continue to live in these places now and will do so in the future.

Equally important, little attention has been paid to the ageing labour force in long term residential care. Moreover, although long term residential care is mainly care for women by women, research on what this means for the health of staff and residents is virtually absent. Based on a broad view of health that includes mental, physical, social and spiritual aspects, we seek to identify healthy ageing strategies for long-term residential care that allow both staff and residents to live better, and more fulfilling lives. Such strategies also have the potential to save money by reducing the amount of medical and other care requiired for both residents and staff. Central to the proposed international project are comparative, collaborative case studies led by experienced national teams that will offer detailed information on physical, economic, environmental, social and behavioural conditions that shape and define healthy ageing for residents and staff in specific care facilities. Our reserach process begins with the collection and analysis of existing statistical information and reseach reports at the national or jurisdictional level in Canada, the UK, Sweden and Norway to set the context for understanding specific residences. Our main technique is the application of a new method in this field: rapid, site-switching ethnography. It is designed to capture the rich detail necessary to identify strategies for active, healthy ageing by brining local and foreign researchers together to study two facilities in each country. They will observe staff and residents, provide residents with cameras as a way of expressing their views and interview both staff and residents about their experiences in facilities. This will bring 'fresh eyes' to these sites while also maximising the 'local' knowledge of the home researcher.

Impact summary


1. With its broad definition of health, an important aim of the project is to have an impact on how wellbeing is experienced and how the active ageing agenda can be pursued with people who are frequently regarded as beyond activity. The target groups for this impact include policy-makers, commissioners, service providers and practitioners in care homes. It is hoped also through partnerships with relevant organizations to have a broader impact on public perceptions.

2. The project has the potential to refocus the perception of long-term residential care as places to live and work. This would lead to improvements in the overall approach to care and the management of care homes. It has the potential to prompt change in approaches to work organization and encourage informed advocacy and participation in decision-making in care homes.

3. The project will develop new directions in research and scholarly debates on ageing, gender, work and policy. It will encourage an interest in the ageing of the long-term care workforce, The linkage of resident and staff perspectives is innovative and is expected to generate interest among researchers. The project will prompt new theoretical and empirical approaches; add to the gender-based analysis of health services; shift debates to healthy active ageing in residential care.

4. The project will have methodological impacts, arising from both the international comparative site-switching approach and from the use of photovoice method. The methodology is adopted in order to demonstrate the possibilities and the desirability of enabling older people's voices to be heard.