In this recording from the OPENspace Research Seminar series at the Edinburgh College of Art, Dr Karen Berry an OPENspace research fellow, presents her research on ‘Places that enable flourishing in older age’.

This open seminar as part of the OPENspace seminar series and was presented and recorded in January 2025.

Event description

Social ecological models reflect an understanding of the transactional relationships between person and place. Health organisation have also highlighted environment as one of the key components in their definition of healthy ageing, and ageing in place frameworks that have been hugely popular in healthcare policy for a number of years now, particularly in areas such as the shift of health care of the ageing population from hospital into community settings.

However, these frameworks can be seen to lack the perspective of older people themselves and the focus is on the home itself rather than the wider environment that people live in. What all of this shows us is that a key part of the picture is to explore individuals needs and goals to allow us to understand the supportiveness of their environments. So in terms of this study, the research questions that we’re looking at are what personal projects are important to different people, enabling them to flourish into older age.

Watch ‘Places that enable flourishing in older age’ directly on Media Hopper Create 

 

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