Psychologists help council survey older people’s needs

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Psychologists from the University are playing a leading role in a new survey into what older people living in Canterbury, Whitstable, Herne Bay and surrounding communities want and need.

Canterbury City Council is undertaking an Active Aging Survey, aimed at establishing what services those aged 55 and over are looking for to help them live fulfilled lives.

Dr Hannah Swift, Research Associate, and Ruth Lamont, a PhD candidate, both of the School of Psychology, helped produce the questions for the survey, which was launched on 24 January. They will use some of the data collected to inform new research by the University’s Kent Adult Research Unit (KARU).

Dr Swift said: ‘The survey is organised around a series of topics: your home, neighbourhood and transport; health and wellbeing; safety; income and welfare rights; social and leisure activities; and attitudes and motivations.

‘Working with the council and other partners, we want to try and understand if there is anything people are dissatisfied with in these areas and how things can be improved.

‘Active ageing is about allowing older people to live independently and inclusively within the community. The findings of this survey will inform the work of the University's Kent Adult Research Unit to understand what enables people to stay active as they grow older. We hope the findings will help create better opportunities for older people and will find new ways of fostering active healthy ageing within the community.’

KARU, which is co-coordinated by Dr Swift, is made up of researchers from the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, the School of Engineering and Digital Arts, the Centre for Health Services Studies, the Tizard Centre as well as those from the School of Psychology.

Canterbury City Council’s survey is available online. Everyone who completes the survey and joins KARU as a volunteer research participant will receive a £10 Marks and Spencer’s voucher.

Contact: M.J.Herrema@kent.ac.uk

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