Researchers from
Northumbria University are asking adults aged 65 or over to spare some time to help
with their latest research into reducing loneliness in older people and improving
function in everyday tasks.
Currently, there are
nearly 12 million people aged 65 and above in the UK. In 50 years, there are
projected to be an additional 8.6 million people aged 65 years and over – a population roughly equivalent to the size of London.
In response to the prominence
of the health and wellbeing of the UK’s ageing population on the policy and
political agenda, two new studies at Northumbria will aim to help older people
age more healthily. Included in the
research will be topics such as wellbeing, stress, mobility, everyday
functioning, nutritional supplementation and personal social networks amongst others.
Psychology PhD students
Alexandra Thompson and Sarah Docherty are now asking the people of the North
East to spare some time in the name of research and become volunteer
participants in their studies.
Reducing loneliness
The first of the two new
studies will develop an intervention that aims to reduce loneliness and its
negative health implications in those aged over 65 by analysing their personal
social networks.
According to research
from Age Concern and Help the Aged, over 1 million older people say they always
or often feel lonely, while a study by Age UK showed that nearly half of older
people say that television or pets are their main form of company. Other
research has revealed that loneliness can be as harmful for our health as
smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Alexandra Thompson is a
PhD Researcher with a background in psychological interventions to improve
health and wellbeing. Her work will look to tackle the prevalence of
loneliness in older people through various stages of research, with the
ultimate aim of developing a videoconferencing intervention via Skype or a
similar application.
Alexandra Thompson explains
the first phase of her study: “The first phase involves a 1-2 hour visit,
during which participants will be asked to provide details about their
relationships with those close to them as well as answering questions about
their wellbeing.
“We will then look at the
association between participants’ social network characteristics and loneliness
to determine the most optimal person from their social network to have contact
with to reduce loneliness.
“The information provided
by phase one will be used to test an intervention involving Skype contact with
that network member in comparison to a stranger and a control activity to
determine its effectiveness.”
Ms Thompson is recruiting
adults aged 65 and over to take part in a computer-assisted questionnaire in
the lab at Northumbria University. All those who take part will be entered into
a draw to win one of four £250 prizes.
Improving every day functioning through supplements
The second Healthy Ageing
project will evaluate the effectiveness of multi-nutrient supplement on a range
of everyday functions, in caregivers and non-caregivers aged 70 or over.
PhD researcher Sarah
Docherty, who has a background in nutritional intervention studies, explains
the rationale behind the study: “Research has shown that being exposed to
prolonged stress can lead to a range of detrimental outcomes such as a worsened
immune system, poorer sleep quality, low mood, and increased risk of
cardiovascular disease.
“These negative
implications can be exacerbated as a person ages, due to declines in the immune
system and an increased vulnerability to illness. As well as this, the ageing
process can lead to impairments in other activities of daily living such as
mobility, which can lead to social isolation and loneliness.
“In recent years, there
has also been an increase in older adults who are also informal caregivers -
those caring for a partner with dementia, for example. This is a form of
chronic stress and is associated with a range of negative health outcomes. Both
age related deficits alone and in combination with chronic stress can lead to
worsened functioning in day-to-day life and reduced quality of life.”
Nutritional
supplementation may provide a way to improve everyday functioning in older
adults and older adult caregivers. However, no research to date has
investigated the effectiveness of multi-nutrient supplementation in improving a broad range of age or stress related detriments in this population group.
Ms Docherty is looking
for adults aged 70 and over to take part in a lab-based study. This involves
two testing visits to the University, lasting approximately two hours each, with
12 weeks in between each visit, and one five minute visit between these two
visits - after six weeks. To thank participants for taking part they will receive
either £50 or £65, depending on which aspects of the study are completed.
Anyone interested in
taking part in either of the studies should contact the researchers as follows:
Reducing loneliness in
older people: a.beecham@northumbria.ac.uk
Improving every day
functioning through supplements: s.docherty@northumbria.ac.uk
These
projects have been approved through the University Ethical Approval system
(reference: 17859 and 17016)
