Discussions were centred around three priori themes (motivation to participate, active involvement of older people in research, and age inequalities). Three sub-themes emerged from the discussions around age inequality: negative perceptions of older people, having a strong voice, accessibility of services and support, and age inequalities in healthcare. The findings are presented below.
Motivation to participate
Participants shared their reasons for attending the workshop, which included the desire to gain new knowledge, in particular relating to ensuring their rights for certain health and social care services were upheld, and represent an older people’s forum and give a voice to older people’s perspectives.
Active involvement of older people in research
Participants felt that there was much to gain from their longer life experience compared with younger age groups and were extremely enthusiastic and willing to offer support in the area of research involving older people. Participants expressed a desire to be involved in creating solutions to healthcare and other issues concerning their age group, as per the phrase “Nothing about me without me” from the UK Department of Health report on promoting equity [13]. Participants expressed an interest in being involved in biomedical research and hoped that the findings of such studies would be shared with Government authorities and ‘think tanks’. Participants also believed that they should be involved in every stage of research, from involvement in grant applications, to dissemination of research findings. They also expressed a desire for older people to be integrated with younger generations, such as volunteering with local authorities to contribute to the community, rather than being viewed as a ‘separate community’.
Various suggestions for the active involvement of older people in research were discussed, such as involvement in doctoral projects, clinical studies, and patient panels at general practitioner (GP) surgeries. Participants felt that the involvement of older people in these areas could play a pivotal role in the planning of healthcare services, social care and related policies.
Priorities for research in ageing and health and social care
Participants identified a range of priorities that they felt were important areas for research and these mostly related to areas where they felt there were deficiencies in current health and social care. The topic of isolation and loneliness was felt by many to be of great importance and participants felt more awareness should be raised to deal with this issue. They highlighted a need to prioritise research on age-related conditions that have a negative impact on quality of life. In some groups improving post-surgical care at hospitals was discussed, for example, the transition period between the hospital and the patient’s home.
Concern regarding support and training for both professional and family carers was also raised. Participants mentioned the need for improved training for carers. The minimal support received by family carers was regarded as unfair, and further research to examine the burden on family carers and how best to support them was considered important.
Age inequalities
A number of themes related to age inequalities were identified during the discussions and are described below.
Negative perceptions of older people
Many participants felt that society held negative perceptions of older people and they expressed a wish for this negative image to change. Participants emphasised their valuable contributions to society and explained that they should not be considered a ‘problem’ to society. Most of the participants felt that they were perceived negatively by the public and the media. Participants felt that they were an unacknowledged resource that was regularly used. For example, participants explained that many older people perform unpaid carer duties, are active grandparents, and are organisational volunteers. The issues of labelling older people and stereotyping them based on their medical conditions were also raised by participants.
Having a strong voice
Participants reported finding it difficult to access and approach governing bodies and felt that they are not given the opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions. As one participant stated, they have “the right to be heard and the right to a response”. Participants felt that governing bodies and policy makers need to listen carefully and implement solutions to problems based on what they have heard from older people, for effective outcomes. It was also suggested that a minister should be appointed to specifically represent the older population.
Accessibility of services and support
Older people often felt that information, public services and support are sometimes inaccessible to them due to their age. For example, older people who may not have access to a computer, or do not know how to use one, may be restricted from accessing information that is only available online, or from completing on-line applications to access services relating to public transport, retirement, utility bills and insurance. As a result, it was concluded that technology, on its own, cannot be considered a viable solution to societal problems if not all members of the community can use it.
Participants also wished to integrate medical and social services to improve their accessibility, such as giving individualised information to older people on a regular basis, concerning the services available to them and alternative treatments.
Age inequalities in healthcare
Age inequalities featured heavily in the workshop discussions, and it was made evident that inequalities not only existed between the young and old, but also within the older population. Older people suggested that they require longer GP appointments than younger patients, to accommodate their multiple co-morbidities and ailments. It was felt that there were barriers to accessing care at GP clinics. For example, receptionists may be able to make decisions regarding who can and cannot see the GP and older people may not be able to access a GP who has experience in treating older people. Participants also felt that rationing of healthcare caused age inequalities, with age-related conditions that impact considerably on their lives such as cataracts and knee pain considered high priority issues by older people, but potentially seen as low priority by healthcare providers. Some participants felt that GPs discriminated against them when they refused referral to specialists for older age-related complaints. Participants explained that the phrase “‘it’s your age” was frequently used by healthcare professionals to explain away aches and pains.
Some participants felt that the treatment and screening of certain diseases based on age was unfair, such as screening for bowel cancer, which in the UK is only routinely conducted in people aged between 60–74 years old [14]. It was also suggested to extend the cut-off age for breast cancer screening.
Additional issues in which participants felt that they were treated differently to younger individuals included the dispensing of medicines. Participants also felt that certain resources for older people, such as podiatrists, hearing aids and shingles vaccinations, were inadequate.