Older people as researchers - why not? An overview of a partnership project to train older people to be researchers

In the UK, a series of policies and practices since the 1980s have increasingly involved service users and carers in the policy and planning of mainstream services (Department of Health, 2000; 2001; 2004). The knowledge base on which services are built is key to ensuring that services are both appropriateand relevant to service users. Research to inform service development has traditionally been led by academics and policymakers, but as general public involvement has increased, the user movement has demanded that service users be more centrally involved in framing the questions and being actively involved in the research process. While mental health service users have led the way in service user research, other user groups are increasingly getting involved in initiatives that support them in gaining basic research skills; either being commissioned by service providers to undertake projects, or by gaining funding themselves to undertake projects defined with peers or their local communities. In the context of this article, older people’s experiences are considered essential in examining the quality of services they receive or in the development of new services or activities that reflect the realities of what older people want and need. With appropriate training in research skills, older people acting in the capacity of ‘doing’ rather than ‘learning about’ research have much to offer service development (Clough et al, 2006).