Ageing Well
The “Ageing Well’ research theme focusses on supporting people to ‘age well’, enhancing quality of life and care across the lifespan. Our current research focuses on:
• Young adults living with long term conditions (e.g., diabetes);
• Maternity services and care;
• Older adults living with long-term conditions (e.g. osteoarthritis) and life-limiting conditions (e.g. dementia);
• Older people living in their own homes (including care homes);
Our research also focuses on enhancing quality of work for the health and social care workforce. This research focuses on recruiting and retaining the workforce and staff well-being.
Members of ‘Ageing Well’ are from a range of disciplines and backgrounds including nursing, midwifery, psychology, and health services research. We have methodological expertise in: qualitative and quantitative methods; mixed-methods; evidence synthesis; co-design; intervention development and evaluation; and randomised controlled trials
Involvement and engagement are central to our research, working with patients and the public, the health and social care workforce, and policy makers. We address questions that matter for these stakeholders, and we work together on developing and undertaking research. Our research ensures equality, diversity and inclusion across all of our activities.
We lead Nurturing Innovation in Care Homes Excellence in Leeds (NICHE Leeds): a partnership between care organisations, and the University of Leeds with Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Care Association and Leeds City Council. Through this partnership, we have researchers (with a linking pin role) working with people living and working in (or with) care homes to identify and address research questions that matter to enhance quality in the sector.
We lead SSCR@Leeds as part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) School for Social Care Research (SSCR), Phase IV: May 2024 to April 2029. SSCR@Leeds (a collaboration with Leeds Beckett University) was selected for the strength of our track record in social care research. Over the next 5 years we will:
1. deliver a collaborative research programme that is relevant to and shapes practice and policy in social care;
2. grow capacity to do social care research in universities and social care;
3. increase the social care networks and partnerships around SSCR@Leeds and in the NIHR SSCR;
4. increase knowledge of the NIHR SSCR and its work in the social care sector;
Our research is supported by the NIHR, Nuffield Foundation, charities (e.g. Versus Arthritis; the Alzheimer’s Society), and public organisations. We are part of faculty-led strategic grants and multi-disciplinary funding awards, and these include: NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre, NIHR Yorkshire and Humber Patient Safety Research Collaboration; NIHR Yorkshire and Humber Applied Research Collaboration; NIHR HealthTech Research Centre; Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research; My First Thousand Days
Co-theme Leads: Dr Reena Devi and Professor Gretl McHugh