Selected current research projects are:

Adjust Tech, Accessible Technology

The reliance on technology during the COVID-19 has grown considerably and is now the main form of communication for many people. However, the pandemic has brought the “digital divide” to the fore, widening the divide between those able to access and use online support tools and those excluded from this support. This project, led by Swansea University, in partnership with the Open (Dr Hannah Marston) and Northumbria Universities, aims to understand what adjustments would enhance existing, affordable technology to support digital confidence and literacy among new users aged 50+ and what technological innovations and prototype applications would enable such new users to confidently access digital platforms.

Find out more information about the team and the project

Amar bari, amar jibon’ (My home, my life): developing suitable living environments for Bangladeshi elders

Funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust, this project researching diversity and inclusion in living environments aims to : 1) develop an evidence base that hears from older adults from Bangladeshi communities living in London about their lived experiences of place - home, housing and neighbourhood environments, its implications for wellbeing and what constitutes ‘suitable living environments and pathways’ for ageing well ; and, 2) together with community partners coproduce evidence- based recommendations that can be used to raise awareness , inform local housing and ageing well strategies to develop suitable living environments.

Find out more information about the team and the project

Urban greening for heat-resilient neighbourhoods

Funded by the British Academy, Drs Leslie Mabon , Alice Moncaster, Jitka Vseteckova, and Verina Waights are working in partnership with Sniffer and Climate Ready Clyde in Scotland and the Taipei GR Lab at National Taiwan University in Taiwan, to undertake research in Glasgow and Taipei to understand how communities have experienced hot weather so far, and how trees and green spaces might help to reduce this heat risk in future. Maintaining and enhancing urban greenery is one potential way to mitigate against extreme hot weather and cool our neighbourhoods. But this greenery needs to be planned and maintained carefully, and it is vital that communities’ perspectives and experiences are taken into account as heat risk reduction strategies are developed.

Find out more information about the team and the project

Supporting Health and Social Care in Guyana and Guyanese communities in the UK

Dr Ann Mitchell and Dr Verina Waights are leading work with the Association of Guyanese Nurses and Allied Professionals, UK (AGNAP, reg. 1055894), a charity founded in 1988 by Betty Wye (current chair) and Daphne Steel, commemorated as the first Guyanese black matron in the NHS. This work will include evaluating ongoing projects funded by AGNAP and developing new research projects in partnership with AGNAP within both Guyana and the UK.

End of life in care homes (EOLC) (see pic ‘end of life’ in folder

A Fellowship project by Dr Diana Teggi , Dr Rebecca Jones and Dr Erica Borgstrom that aims to disseminate the findings of a mixed-method study of palliative care in care homes; and to develop a new research project on supporting intimate and sexual relationship in older adults living in care homes.

Status: completed

Coupledom in later life - Living apart and together                     

An empirical study by Dr Manik Gopinath, Dr Caroline Holland and Professor Sheila Peace (Emeritus) that aimed to develop an understanding of how couple (married and cohabiting) relationships in later life are experienced and maintained when partners are separated by movement into a care home.

View related article and blog

Enduring commitment: older couples living apart in: Families, Relationships and Societies Volume 12 Issue 2 (2023) (bristoluniversitypressdigital.com)

When growing old together means living apart | The British Academy

Status: completed

COVID-19: Dating apps, social connections, loneliness and mental health in a pandemic

During the Covid-19 pandemic, it was likely that many people young and old were using dating apps as a means to socially, emotionally, and sexually connect with others. This study, led by Dr Hannah Marston, explored a myriad of facets associated to the experiences of dating Apps (e.g. Bumble, Tinder, Plenty of Fish etc.) in a bid to identify and experience social(sex) connections, intimacy, sexuality by adults across different age cohorts, and including older adults (50+ years).

Find out more information about the project

Status: completed

COVID-19: Technology, Self-isolation, Health, Wellbeing and Leisure Activities

This study, led by Dr Hannah Marston, explored how technology was impacting everyday lives and ecosystems during the pandemic, such as home schooling, to social connectedness, quiz nights and keeping connected with other ecosystems. The study brought international experts from the fields of social sciences, technology and gerontology together to assess the impact of the technology use from their perspectives. The survey generated by the research team was translated into Spanish, Catalan, Romanian, German, French, Mandarin, Hindi, Turkish and Slovenian. 

Find out more about the project

Status: completed

Development of a model of relational care for care homes and community-based settings in the UK

Professor Mary  Larkin and Dr Manik Gopinath working with relational care expert, Ms Jenny Kartupelis and Drs Joseph de Lappe and Anthea Wilson have developed a model of relational care for older people and a toolkit that a) assessed the extent to which dimensions of relational care are present in a particular care setting (e.g., care homes, day care centres) for the purpose decision-making, standards-setting and inspections and (b) helps to encourage and embed more widespread use of relational care. The project was funded by the Hallmark Foundation, an independent charity.  

View the report and toolkit here (link it to ORDO)

The value and practice of relational care with older people: a research report by The Open University

Making every relationship matter: a practitioner toolkit for relational care with older people

Status: completed

Progressive Standards Around ICT (information and communication Technologies) for Active and Healthy Ageing

The EU-funded PROGRESSIVE project, led by De Montfort University UK, comprised 10 European partners (Open University: Drs Caroline Holland and Verina Waights) who aimed to provide a dynamic and sustainable framework for standards and standardisation around ICT for Health and Active Ageing. The project focussed on co-production approaches, within the domains of age friendly communities; reformed and empowering services; accessible, affordable and supportive homes; and active, health and empowered older people, to ensure the inclusion of older people becomes integral to ways of thinking about standards for ICT for AHA. Traditional top-down, clinically driven approaches to standards often fail to recognise the importance of such engagement and overlook the opportunity of co-production approaches

Find out more about the project

Status: completed

The ARCLIGHT (Action Research Community-Led Initiative, Guyana Health Team) project

This British Academy funded project, led by Dr Ann Mitchell, co-created a community-based mental health improvement programme to promote positive mental health practices and enhance mental resilience. The interdisciplinary research considered the cultural, professional, and political factors acting as barriers to mental health recovery, aiming to provide new conceptual understandings and policy-relevant evidence about how to address the global challenge of mental health, in multi-ethnic, resource-poor, Low and Middle-Income countries. This collaborative approach, underpinned by Participatory Action Research encouraged behavioural change, economic independence and enhanced local services provision.

View blog Art and Domestic Violence - Creating tools for healing and empowerment | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (open.ac.uk)

Status: completed

Using technologies to improve care for Hospice community service users and their families during Covid-19

During Covid-19, hospice community services for people with life-limiting illness and their families/carers had to change abruptly, limiting face to face visits and consultations, and increasing the use of digital technologies for client and family contact with hospice health professionals. This project, led by Dr Verina Waights in collaboration with Drs Erica Borgstrom and Caroline Moore, and in partnership with Willen Hospice, explored staff, service users and their families’ experiences of the impact of Covid-19 on ‘Hospice at Home care’ and their recommendations for future service improvements in the light of their experiences.

Status: completed

Walking Befriending

This project, funded by Sport England, led by Age UK Milton Keynes with the Open University (Drs Verina Waights, Caroline Holland and Aravinda Gopinath), enabled development of a Walking Befriending Service. This service encouraged older people to undertake weekly short walks with a volunteer walking befriender to increase their physical activity and help reduce loneliness. The majority of clients, including those using walking frames or sticks, increased their walking activity during the project and reported that having a ‘walking buddy’ made the walks more enjoyable, motivated them, increased their confidence to walk and improved their health and wellbeing.

View the report (link it to ORO)

Status: completed