Ac#ve Ageing: from the perspec,ve of a sample of older people

Transcription

1 Ac#ve Ageing: from the perspec,ve of a sample of older people Paul Stenner Professor of Social Psychology The Open University, UK Paul.Stenner@open.ac.uk

2 new dynamics of ageing a cross-council research programme Quality of life in older age: Psychometric testing of the multidimensional Older People s Quality of Life (OPQOL) questionnaire and the causal model under-pinning it. A. Bowling, D. Banister, P. Stenner, H. Titheridge, K. Sproston, T. McFarquhar ndafindings 2

3 Art 1. Subjectivity is not to be dissociated from objectivity of 2. Subjectivity is not to be confused with the isolated individual Life

4 English Longitudinal study of ageing (Marmot et al, 2009) Mortality, ill health, social isola#on and loneliness all differed, in a graded way, with people s wealth: less wealth was associated with being sicker, less func#onal and more isolated

5 From the Zimmer frame to the Zimmers hrp:// The Zimmers (Alf Carretta) The Zimmer frame

6 Hope I die before I get old! Hope I die before I get old The Vital Subject The Retiring Subject

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8 Subjec#ve age P13: I tell you what, you don t alter. The mind is s#ll young, can be, but I mean you re aware that you ve got to behave you know, like an older person but you re s#ll the same as when you were young! I: So if you had to put a number on how old you feel mentally what would you say? P13: Well I could go back to my twen#es and teens. [female, 80]

9 P15: I had a rela#ve by marriage, and she was well in her 90s and she looked like an Edwardian lady because she had hair all Edwardian style and she said to me... I know when someone knocks at the door and I open the door, they see a very old lady. But I m about 23 (laughs)... you re no different from what you were when you were 6 really inside... You can remember the you and that s s#ll there. Gets crusted over a bit but its s#ll there! [female, 75] P8: you feel the same all the way through inside really. You don t really age inside. [female, 73] P12: To be honest I don t think you really change as you get older. [male, 72]

10 What does being old mean? P23: Anyone that s older than me! But I don t regard myself as old. [Female, age 72] P21: 90 I think. But by the #me you get to 90, if you get to 90, it ll probably go up again! [female, 75] P12: I think you could be old at 50, really some people are old in their mind for all their lives, I think. I ve met people that seem that way... I think a lot of people feel old as soon as they get to a certain age you, I ve got friends, rela#ons and that and they get to 60 and oh yeah I don t do that anymore, not at my age. And you know, what s the difference at your age you know? (laughs). What s the difference now to 2 or 3 years ago? And they tend to slow down inten#onally it almost seems. [male, age 72].

11 Being old symbolised by declining powers P25: Ac#ve ageing is trying to keep as young as you can, I should imagine. [male, 77] P23: It s not giving in, not saying to yourself I am old. [female, 72] P15: you re very much aware that you haven t the energy that you used to have. So although I like to think of myself in my 50s, my body tells me no, no you re not in your 50s. [female, 75]

12 Symbols of being old P36: What about a mobility scooter or something like that? is that something you d ever consider? R: Those electric things? R: I have thought about it, I don t want to yet. I: Why not? R: Because I ll be really old! (laughs) [female, 82]

13 I: So that s not helpful no? The quad s#ck? P1: No it makes me feel an invalid. I don t feel, I don t feel an invalid you know. I tell you I don t really feel that old, it s just that I can t get about so quickly, you know? [female, 87] P11: What I do, I take the top shelf off my trolley, push it round to the front door, put my bags on that, wheel it up. Now I didn t realise un#l recently, I m using that as a Zimmer! But it certainly looks berer than the Zimmer.

14 Passivity / Ac#vity P33: Ac#ve ageing. Just, I think it s being ac#ve, it s being able, to me it s being able to do what I want, when I want. And to be able to do the things that I want to do. To walk, to do the garden, to, I don t do sports but if I did you know, that s to me what is being, and it s being well enough to be able to be ac#ve. [female, 73]

15 Vitality Subject to Governance? WHO defini#on of Ac#ve Ageing the process of op#mizing opportuni#es for health, par#cipa#on and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age.

16 Be Ac#ve

17 A new type of social contract? On the side of the ci#zen: Everyone must make personal efforts to adopt posi#ve personal health prac#ces at all stages of life On the side of the state: Society must provide evidence- based knowledge of the best ways to age ac#vely, and encourage joined up policy which makes the healthy choices the easy choices

18 Forever young? P13: I don t want to think about that. I must be able, if I m not, I want to go. I: Ok so it s not something you, you try to think about? R: No. Because I d rather be gone not, not cause people to have to see to me and all that, you know. [female, 80]

19 Conclusions 1. Theore#cal: relevance of subjec#vity 2. Poli#cal: poli#cs by way of subjec#vity 3. Methodological: move beyond a factors and variables framework towards a challenge and response framework 4. An ageing society?

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