Research presentations

The showcase will kick-off with an afternoon of short presentations exploring ageing research from our colleagues in the Faculties of Science and Engineering, Biology, Medicine and Health, and Humanities. With presentations from senior researchers, post-graduates and early career researchers; we aim to display a varied cross-section of the research that is happening with MICRA’s help at the University of Manchester.

Guest lecture

We are thrilled to have Professor Janet Lord, CBE, from the University of Birmingham joining us as our guest speaker. Professor Lord will be introduced by President of the University, Dame Nancy Rothwell, and will give a talk on ‘Human Ageing: The Good, the Bad and the Unexpected.’

Talk abstract: Human Ageing: The Good, the Bad and the Unexpected.

We are living longer but not healthier, with adults in the UK on average spending the last two decades of life in poor health. How well we reach old age is influenced by a wide range of factors including biological and environmental factors.

The lecture will cover some of the evidence for the malleability of lifespan and health span and the latest research on extending these metrics. There will be a focus on the role of physical activity in maintaining health in old age, describing aspects of the aged phenotype that are and are not modified by exercise.

About the speaker

Janet Lord, CBE, is a Professor of Immune Cell Biology and the Director of the MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research. Her research focuses on the dysregulation of immunity in older age, in particular the decline in neutrophil function and how this compromises the response to infection and tissue injury. She aims to understand the mechanisms involved, and to develop novel therapies to improve immunity in older adults.

Agenda

• Lunch and Networking: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
• Research Presentations: 1:00pm – 3:30pm
• Refreshments: 3:30pm – 4:00pm
• Guest Lecture: 4:00pm – 5:00pm

This is an event not to be missed for ageing research in 2023.

Please to secure your place as numbers are strictly limited.

Location: Room 1.014/15, Henry Royce Institute, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, 91ֱ��.

MICRA has appointed two new members to its senior leadership team: Emma Stanmore and Henry Yi Li.

Emma is a Reader and Lead for the Healthy Ageing Research Group in the School of Health Sciences. Emma’s interdisciplinary research spans health and social care, industry and the voluntary sector with a specific focus on improving the quality of life of older adults, particularly through the development and testing of novel interventions and digital technologies to support preventative care (e.g. health literacy, falls prevention and rehabilitation). Emma’s research is funded predominantly as PI through Innovate UK, NHS England, Arthritis Research UK, ESRC, Wellcome Trust and as Co-I from the European Commission, NIHR and Innovation Fund Denmark. 

Emma’s research has been recognised in a number of scientific awards including the EULAR Allied Health Professional prize, British Geriatrics Society Jed Rowe prize and the GM Cyber Foundry Award. She is CEO of KOKU Health, a university of Manchester spin out company.

Henry Yi Li is a chair and full professor of in the Department of Materials within the School of Natural Sciences. Henry is a Life-Fellow of Royal Society of Art and International Biographical Association and Fellow of the Textile Institute. He is the Chairman of Textile Bioengineering and Informatics Society, deputy council chairman of International Digital Health and Intelligent Materials Innovation Association, Chairman of Board of Directors for Fashion Big Data Foundation, and Editor-in-Chief of “Journal of Fiber Bioengineering and Informatics”.

Henry has over 600 scientific publications, and was recognized on the list of “Highly Cited Researcher” in 2013 by THOMSON REUTERS and 2022 global top 2% Scientists by . With over 140 invited keynote/plenary lectures in conferences, he has more than 56 awards on outstanding research papers, patent inventions and technology transfer. He owns more than 46 patents granted in USA, China and Australia and 30 IP properties transferred to industry.

We are delighted to have them both on board and look forward to their valued input and leadership of the institute.

MICRA members (Camilla Lewis, Chris Phillipson, Sophie Yarker and Luciana Lang) are pleased to announce the publication of a book: ‘COVID-19, Inequality and Older People: Everyday life during the pandemic’, in June 2023 with Policy Press.

The book provides a detailed account of the impact of COVID-19 on the everyday life and relationships of older people, together with the organisations working on their behalf. It draws on novel qualitative longitudinal research which recorded the experiences of a diverse group of people aged 50 and over, in a variety of situations and locations across Greater 91ֱ��, England. The women and men were interviewed over three ‘lockdowns’, covering a twelve-month period of the pandemic. 

The interviews provide detailed accounts of the ways in which older people and community groups experienced the impact of COVID-19 over different points in time, in the context of their family and friends, homes, neighbourhoods, and wider social networks.

As well as providing a detailed account of the ways that people organised their everyday lives and supported others in their households and neighbourhoods, the analysis also shows how the pandemic put a ‘spotlight’ on the precarity and unmet needs of some groups of older adults, such as those living alone, or from ethnic minority backgrounds. 

Insights from these observations must form the starting point for how we understand the changing needs of older groups in their communities, as well as develop effective policies for supporting people during a period of crisis such as that represented by COVID-19. The book provides an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the unequal impact of COVID-19 across the older population.

To pre-order the book, please follow: . News about a book launch will be shared in the new year.

Drawing on the same study, the team have also published a research article in The Gerontologist, entitled: ‘Precarity and the Pandemic: The Impact of COVID-19 on Single Men Living Alone’. The paper focuses on the daily lives of a group of single men over three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The findings emphasize the need, given the likelihood of future waves of the pandemic, to target support at those living alone, particularly in relation to the provision of community health services, social infrastructure, and combating digital exclusion.

For further details about the paper, see: Lewis, C., Phillipson, C., Lang, L. and Yarker, S. (2022) Precarity and the pandemic: The impact of COVID-19 on single men living alone. The Gerontologist.

We are looking for healthy volunteers, aged 18 and older, willing to participate in skin research studies.

If you are suitable for the study and agree to take part, we will invite you to attend the Dermatopharmacology Unit at Salford Royal Hospital on a single occasion. A blood sample will be taken from the vein in your arm. Up to four 6 mm biopsies will be taken from the buttock.

You will be reimbursed for taking part – this is in recognition of your time and discomfort.

For further information or if you wish to take part please contact the research team:

Gill Aarons (Clinical Research Nurse)

Tel: 0161 206 8526         Email: gill.aarons@manchester.ac.uk

Susan Hawksworth (Research Administrator)

Tel: 0161 206 8526         Email: susan.hawksworth@manchester.ac.uk

Authored by MICRA/MUARG researchers Tine Buffel and Sophie Yarker, the paper examines the Ambition for Aging program in Greater 91ֱ��, UK, which implemented a range of projects designed to tackle social isolation in later life. The paper argues that due to its co-production approach and spatial lens, Ambition for Aging was able to involve sections of the older population that otherwise might have remained excluded.

You can access the paper here:

Between 2015 and 2022, AfA invested over £2 million into over 1,500 small projects. The report draws on the lessons learned over their seven years of supporting Greater 91ֱ�� neighbourhoods to improve age-friendliness and social connections.

The report includes a process evaluation of their recent Greater 91ֱ��-wide microfunding programme, Supporting Ageing in Place, which saw over 100 projects each worth up £2,000 funded in specific neighbourhoods.

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Our researchers are conducting a study which aims to investigate ways of improving computer-based actions in people with Parkinson’s, specifically keyboard and mouse use.

Camilla Woodrow-Hill (PhD student researcher) is asking for participants who meet the following criteria:

• Have a Parkinson’s diagnosis
• Have access to a computer
• Speak & read fluent English
• Currently reside in the UK
• Have normal/corrected-to-normal vision & hearing (e.g. glasses/hearing aids)

The research will be conducted entirely online.

If this is something you are interested in particpiating in, please contact Camilla Woodrow-Hill:

• camilla.woodrowhill@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk

To celebrate on Tuesday, 8 March 2022 the School of Health Sciences Athena Swan committee have organised a month of celebrations to highlight the contributions of women during the Covid-19 pandemic. They will host a series of inspirational lunchtime speakers online. The theme of the talks is ‘The Contribution of Women across the Lifespan in the Covid-19 Crisis’.

The first speaker on Wednesday, 16 March 2022 is , MICRA affiliate and researcher on the Uncertain Futures project, a unique participatory art project involving the collection of narratives from women over 50 years in 91ֱ�� around their experience of work. The project featured in a recent MICRA webinar.

The schedule of talks is:

• Wednesday, 16 March 2022: 12-1pm
  Dr Elaine Dewhurst
  Challenges and Contributions of women over 50 in 91ֱ�� during Covid-19: Lessons from the Uncertain Futures Project.
   
• Wednesday, 23 March 2022: 12-1 pm
  Speaker TBC
   
• Wednesday, 30 March 2022: 12-1 pm
  Dr Eileen Cunningham (91ֱ�� Metropolitan University) and Dr Joy  Probyn (University of Salford)
  Exploring the lived experiences of working mums in lockdown

Register for your free ticket today:

This is a really important issue for many older adults and their families, but we know very little about how people are supported to manage their money, or what support people might find useful.

We would like to speak to people in Greater 91ֱ�� from the following categories about their experiences of this issue:

• People aged 65 and over who are being supported by a partner/relative/friend to manage their money;
• People aged 18 and over with experience of supporting an older adult to manage their money.

Your participation would involve an interview with the research team, lasting approximately one hour. We would like to learn more about how older adults can be supported to manage their money. We will not ask you to disclose any information about how much money you have, or any private information such as bank details. We are also not able to offer financial advice.

If you are interested in being involved in this research or would like to find out more, please contact Dr Alex Hall for further information:

• Email alex.hall@manchester.ac.uk

The webinar asks what needs to be in place to enable everyone to maintain, rebuild or grow our social connections as we age? Professor Phillipson and Dr Yarker will focus on the experience of voluntary and community organisations in supporting older people from marginalised groups.

For more information and to register:

Winner - staff

Chris Phillipson, with Luciana Lang, Sophie Yarker, Camilla Lewis, Tine Buffel, Patty Doran and Mhorag Goff won the staff prize for their work to reduce the risk of social exclusion for older people during the pandemic. When Covid 19 hit, the team used their existing community links to investigate the differing impacts on older people in Greater 91ֱ��. Knowing that their findings would be useful for local authorities, practitioners, and policymakers, they produced a report and launched it with local authority and third sector partners. The report has been downloaded nearly 7,500 times. They then shared their research via an extensive programme of blogs and online presentations, to national and international third and public sector groups.

• Read the report: COVID-19 and Social Exclusion: Experiences of older people living in areas of multiple deprivation

Winner – PhD student

Tiba Bonyad won the PhD student category for sharing her research on sperm and egg donation, surrogacy and reproductive justice in Iran. These methods for starting a family are not widely understood and donors and surrogates often face stigma and victimisation. Tiba wanted to change this by sharing her knowledge and expertise with a wide audience, in Iran where her research took place.

She was a guest on two episodes of the popular sex education podcast, Arishan, proving such a hit with listeners that she was asked back for a third Q&A episode. The were accessed over 30k times on Instagram alone.

Tiba also suggested a special issue of Zanan-e Emrooz, the most influential feminist magazine in Iran, on reproductive justice. She then wrote about her research in the lead article, and persuaded the editors to make it open access on their website to reach the widest possible audience.

Tiba showed that you can bring a complex topic to a wide audience and explain it in a way that is accessible and persuasive.

Highly commended - staff

Jessica Mancuso, David Dobson, Jaime García-Iglesias and Amy Barron were highly commended in the staff category for an innovative project to capture the stories of Manchester’s Gay Village. The original plan was to run in-person workshops followed by an in-person exhibition…but the pandemic meant none of this was possible. The team decided instead to collect stories online, using an interactive map where people could pin their stories about the gay village to a map of the area. The team promoted the project online via media networks (including MEN, Gaydio) and social media. They are now working on a non-academic book about the project for 91ֱ�� University Press.

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Ageing & Society have today published a new journal article ‘Co-research with older people: a systematic literature review’ which is a collaboration between MICRA Researcher and MUARG Director Dr Tine Buffel and Dr Hayley James. Their article presents a systematic review of the literature, examining the aims and challenges of co-research and the ways in which older adults can be involved in research.

The piece addresses three research questions:

1. What are the benefits of involving older people in co-produced research?
2. In what ways have older people been involved in different phases of the research cycle?
3. What are the challenges associated with involving older people in research?

Read the full article:

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has awarded researchers at the University of Manchester, the Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, and the University of London, Birkbeck a three-year grant of approximately £1million to explore the concept of Care Aesthetics. 

Care Aesthetics: Research Exploration (CARE) asks what happens when we consider care a craft or artful practice. Considering the contemporary crisis in care, the project will explore how sensory and embodied practices of care can improve care services and change the quality of socially engaged arts practices. As part of its design, in year 2 of the study, CARE will run case studies in three settings: i) NHS in-patient dementia assessment wards; ii) with care workers in the community; and iii) with artists working in care homes. In addition, the study team will also conduct a major study into creative responses to the Coronavirus pandemic.    

Madeleine Bunting, in her 2020 book ‘Labours of Love: The Crisis of Care,’ called care ‘that close but poor relation of artistic creativity’. CARE seeks to elevate care to its proper position as a creative practice that can contribute effectively to health and social care services. The project will highlight the immense skills of care staff and aims to support the caring practices of artists working in health and social care settings.

Principle Investigator, James Thompson said, ‘We are delighted with this award and excited to be exploring care in new ways, drawing on the best from the arts, health and social care research – and developing new aesthetically rich and dynamic care practices which are vital for our current times’.

CARE will launch a Care Aesthetic Lab in year one to bring practitioners from health and social care together with artists to explore new methods and practices of care, and to foster public engagement with the project.

The CARE team are:

• Professor James Thompson (PI) – Drama, School of Arts Languages and Cultures, University of Manchester;
• Professor John Keady (CoI) – Professor of Older People’s Mental Health, Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Manchester;
• Dr Jackie Kindell (CoI) – Visiting Lecturer, University of Manchester and Head of Allied Health Professionals and Social Workers, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust;
• Dr Kerry Harman (CoI) – Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychosocial Studies, University of London, Birkbeck;
• Jenny Harris – Lead Artist, 91ֱ��.

For more information, please contact: james.thompson@manchester.ac.uk

As part of her PhD study (supervised by Dr Gorana Pobric, Dr Laura Brown and Dr Jason Taylor), Samantha Booth is looking for individuals to take part in a study investigating the determinants of ‘brain training’ success. She is looking for a small number of individuals to take part in the initial run.

Participation would involve completing 16 online ‘brain training’ sessions (i.e. a programme of regular cognitive activities). The online tasks are all computer-based and are designed to measure ‘working memory’ (the ability to hold information in mind for a short period of time) and reasoning performance. Experience with computers is not required as the tasks only require a simple button press or mouse click response, with clear instructions provided beforehand. 

Each of the 16 sessions will be completed on a different day. You would be asked to complete these sessions following a fixed schedule. The schedule that you will follow depends on which group you are randomly allocated to during your first session. It is very important that you follow your given schedule throughout the training.

• Schedule A: The 16 sessions will be spaced over eight weeks. You will perform two sessions a week for eight weeks. The two sessions per week will be spaced two days apart. For example, you could decide to do Monday and Wednesday each week. Or, Thursday and Saturday each week etc. You must stick to the same schedule each week. We ask that you try and perform each session at a similar time of day wherever possible.
   
• Schedule B: The 16 sessions will be spaced over four weeks. You will perform four sessions a week for four weeks. The four sessions per week will be performed on consecutive days. You can chose which consecutive days to perform the training. For example, you could decide to complete the sessions on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week. Or, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday each week etc. You must stick to the same schedule each week. We ask that you try and perform each session at a similar time of day wherever possible.

Each session will last approximately 20 minutes (though the first and last sessions will last ~40-55 minutes). You will be reimbursed for your time (Love2Shop e-voucher).

For the study participants must:

• Provide informed consent.
• Be aged 55 years or above.
•  Normal or corrected-to-normal vision.
• Fluent English-speaker
• Access to a computer or laptop to complete each session.

Due to the nature of this study, the following exclusion criteria has been specified:

• Severe non-correctable visual impairments (as the computer-based tasks require you to be able to read text presented on a monitor either with or without glasses).
• Colour blindness.
• History of alcohol or substance abuse or dependency.
• History of neurological conditions such as Mild Cognitive Impairment, Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease etc.
• History of psychiatric conditions such as depression (if not in remission) or schizophrenia etc.

If you are interested in taking part or finding out more information please email:

• Samantha.booth@manchester.ac.uk

MICRA and MUARG researcher Dr Sophie Yarker has authored a blog post for Housing Lin highlighting how social infrastructure played a crucial role in our capacity to respond to the Covid19 pandemic, and why we need to pay much greater attention to creating spaces for our ageing society.

The post takes the same title as Sophie’s recently published book ‘Creating Spaces for an Ageing Society: The Role of Critical Social Infrastructure’.

The post highlights the value of various forms of social interactions, from non-verbal interactions, casual acquaintanceships to recognising a familiar face. Sophie states that: “We need to ensure there is a diversity of spaces in our neighbourhoods where social interaction, no matter how fleeting, can occur. Well maintained and accessible green spaces are needed just as much as public libraries, Post Offices, shops and cafes.”

Read the full blog post:

Sophie will also be speaking at the Housing LIN “HAPPI Hour session” on Social Prescribing: It’s a better prescription on Tuesday, 8 February 2022:

MICRA researcher and former director Professor Debbie Price is involved in collaborative research with colleagues from the School of Law – Neil Allen and Dr Philip Drake, along with Dr Jayne Astbury from the School of Social Sciences. 

The research (funded by NIHR)  into co-resident carers of someone living with dementia, examines and explores endemic legal uncertainty during the pandemic social care crisis.

Ageing Issues, from the British Society of Gerontology has now published a blog on this research. 

The researchers found that local authorities across England confronted similar issues, namely:

• the closure of day services;
• support groups closing or moving online;
• dramatic reductions in the provision of domiciliary care;
• significantly reduced access to care homes for carer respite;
• inadequate personal protective equipment for some care staff;
• diverting resources from Care Act reviews to frontline delivery;
• a drop in adult safeguarding referrals.

The blog authors then ask the question: why then did some local authorities trigger their need for legal protection via the Care Act easements whilst others left themselves exposed?

Read the full post on the Ageing Issues blog: 

Former MICRA Director, and one of the lead authors of the report ‘A Guide to the Treatment of Pensions on Divorce: the Report of the Pension Advisory Group’ (July 2019), Professor Debora Price has spoken extensively in an interview with Legal & General with advice for financial advisors working with divorcing couples.

In the interview Debora explains that divorce damages women’s finances more, and wives often have less developed financial networks than their husbands. As the pensions world is complex and ever-changing, it can be hard for even professionals to keep a handle on it all. As Debora states “Basically, it’s all a bit of a mess. And that’s my official pronouncement!”

The article highlights the issues that come with the common decision for the woman to keep the family home, and the man to keep the pension. Debora remarks on the long term negative impacts of such a decision on the woman:

“The woman will probably have less earning capacity, so she’ll focus on paying off the mortgage. She won’t pay into her own pension. When the man and woman reach 60, he’ll have a house and a pension. She’ll have a house and no pension. At best, she’ll have to keep on working for much longer and won’t be able to choose when to retire. At worst, poor health or other misfortunes could leave her in a very tough place.”

The article/interview is directed towards financial advisors, but relevant to anyone with an interest in these issues. 

Read the full article:

You can also view a short animation about Pensions and Divorce created by researchers from the 91ֱ�� Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing and 91ֱ�� Sociology:

Falls prevention is a priority in Greater 91ֱ�� and there is much to be proud of in terms of our joint efforts and commitment to improving the lives of our residents. 

MICRA are pleased to share details of an event which will share the latest thinking, developments and activities which have been happening across a range of stakeholders and localities throughout 2021, with a view to deliver an Ageing Well integrated approach to falls prevention and reconditioning in 2022 and beyond.  

This event has been driven by a collaborative partnership that includes senior leaders and colleagues based in the Healthy Ageing Research Group (University of Manchester), GreaterSport, Greater 91ֱ�� Ageing Hub, GM Health and Social Care Partnership (including the Frailty Care Reference Group and Adult Social Care Transformation), GM Local Authorities and the voluntary and community sector.

The event purposes are to:

• Offer a brief overview and update on the wider impacts of Covid-19 
• Share a new GM Falls Prevention report to guide integrated falls prevention and reconditioning planning 
• Provide an ‘Ageing Well’ strategic overview of a system level commissioning framework and the Enhanced Health at Home programme  
• Provide the opportunity for audience questions and feedback  

Confirmed speakers:

• Suzanne Hilton - CEO of Age UK Bolton and Chair of the GM Age UK’s.
• Warren Heppolette - Executive Lead, Strategy & System Development, Greater 91ֱ�� Health & Social Care Partnership.
• Oliver Rashbrook-Cooper - Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.
• Professor Martin Vernon - Consultant Geriatrician & Clinical Advisor London & Greater 91ֱ��, Chair Strategic Clinical Network (SCN) Frailty Care Reference Group.
• Hayley Lever - Chief Executive Officer (GreaterSport) and GM Moving Exec Lead.
• Paul McGarry - Greater 91ֱ�� Ageing Hub, Greater 91ֱ�� Combined Authority.
• Professor Chris Todd - Professor of Primary Care & Community Health, University of Manchester.
• Jamil Abdulkader - Greater 91ֱ�� Older People’s Network.
• Steph Butterworth - Director of Adult Services, Tameside Council, Lead Greater 91ֱ�� Enhanced Health at Home.
• Debra Ward & Uzo Anagor - Adult Social Care Programme, Greater 91ֱ�� Health & Social Care Partnership.

Register for the event:

Senior MICRA researcher and Director of the Dr. Tine Buffel has been invited to present as a keynote speaker at the .

Dr Buffel will deliver a presentation on ‘Spatial Justice and the Right to an Age-Friendly Community’.

The event will take place in virtual format from Sunday, 12 - Thursday, 16, June 2022. It is a unique opportunity for all practitioners from multiple aging-related disciplines to update and exchange know-how and experiences.

For further information about the event, including details about and , please visit the IAGG 2022 website:

With the adoption of the , countries have committed to 10 years of concerted and collaborative actions to improve the lives of older people (defined as age 60 years and over), their families and the communities in which they reside.

The goal of this new action plan, the Decade, is to optimize the functional ability of older people and contribute to the vision of long and healthy lives. The Decade addresses four, interconnected areas of action: a) change how we think, feel and act towards age and ageing, b) ensure that communities foster the abilities of older people, c) deliver person-centered integrated care and primary health services that are responsive to older people; and d) provide access to long-term care for older people who need it.

The Decade recognises the importance of strengthening data for measurement, monitoring and evaluation of the action plan as part of four enablers:

1. listening to diverse voices and enabling meaningful engagement of older people, family members, caregivers, young people and communities;
2. nurturing leadership and building capacity for integrated action across sectors;
3. connecting various stakeholders around the world to share and learn from the experience of others; 
4. strengthen data, research and innovation to accelerate implementation.

To this end, WHO has established a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to provide advice on the measurement, monitoring and evaluation of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030) and programmes related to the action areas.

The TAG will have up to 20 members, who shall serve in their individual capacities to represent the broad range of sectors and disciplines relevant to the function of the group. The membership of TAG will seek to reflect eminent experts in the major areas of relevance such as epidemiology, geriatrics, gerontology, demography, community development, and statistics.

We are delighted to report that MICRA researcher and 91ֱ�� Urban Ageing Research Group (MUARG) Director, Dr Tine Buffel has been elected as a member of this eminent expert group.

Charlotte Growcott, a PhD student at The University of Manchester, is exploring how people with Parkinson’s define and understand motor imagery. Motor imagery refers to how an individual imagines movements in real time without actually physically moving. The aim of the research is to gain a greater understanding of the definition of motor imagery and how it can be used to better the lives of people with Parkinson’s.

The researchers are looking for 250 people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and who also have access to a laptop or tablet, to participate. The study will involve completing an online questionnaire which will take a minimum of 45 minutes. The team can offer help in completing the questionnaire.

If you are interested in taking part please complete our online questionnaire:

If you have any further questions about the research or would like help completing the questionnaire, please contact Charlotte via email at charlotte.growcott@manchester.ac.uk.

This group entered the pandemic at a disadvantage due to pre-existing inequalities in housing, health, employment and income. Some older ethnic minority people were also particularly hard hit by lockdown and restrictions on social mixing.

The ‘digital divide’ can stop some older ethnic minority people from easily accessing reliable information about public health. Training and resources to address this divide could help, if they are properly targeted.

Language barriers were an additional issue for some people in , with important information and messages sometimes only provided in English.

Older ethnic minority people were more likely to rely on community and voluntary groups to provide support and advice, and lessen the impact of the digital divide and language barriers. But restrictions on social contact meant that often these lifelines were removed at exactly the point they were most needed.

Read the briefing in full:

You can also hear the authors of this briefing and an expert panel discuss the research at our free online event:

•  - takes place at 2pm on Monday, 6 December 2021. Please register for a free place to receive instructions on how to join.

The briefing is produced by and and authored by Jenny Hewitt and Dharmi Kapadia. 

This briefing is part of a series which explores the impact of the pandemic on people from ethnic minority groups. Find out more:

Researchers at the have authored the article '', which was published in November 2022 in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic prompted the rapid implementation of new and existing digital technologies to facilitate access to health and care services during physical distancing. Older people may be disadvantaged in that regard if they are unable to use or have access to smartphones, tablets, computers, or other technologies.

The aim of the study was to synthesize evidence on the impact of digital technologies on older adults’ access to health and social services.

The authors findings led them to recommend that further research is urgently needed in order to understand the positive and negative consequences of digital technologies on health care access and to identify the groups most vulnerable to exclusion

Read the article in full:

Join the Greater 91ֱ�� Health and Social Care Partnership and The University of Manchester for the launch of a new report examining how we can improve the lives of people living with dementia and their carers in Greater 91ֱ�� through housing.

The report particularly looks at how dementia interacts with existing inequalities and already-marginalised groups, and makes clear and direct recommendations to policymakers for improving integration and quality in Greater 91ֱ��’s housing stock.

The event will take place on Friday 10th December 10am – 11am. You can attend the face to face event at Friends Meeting House, 91ֱ��, or online via Zoom.

For more information and to register, visit our .

Researchers at The University of Manchester are

The project team would like to speak to people aged 75 or over who do and who do not use the internet to gain a better understanding of the enablers and barriers to accessing digital services online.

Specifically the team want to understand what might have encouraged people who do use the internet to get online during the pandemic. The team would also like to hear from individuals who do not, or cannot, use the internet to understand their reasons why.

Further information about the project is available on the (PDF).

If you are interested in taking part, or if you would like further information, then please contact Dr Annemarie Money either by telephone on 0161 306 7777 or via email:

• annemarie.money@manchester.ac.uk

On the site, you will find a summary of the research that the Audience Agency produced for CADA on older populations in England and insights into cultural and creative participation. This report aims to provide useful data to inform work on creative ageing, so please use the findings in your own work. There is also a recording of the event on 19 October, to launch the research and to present emerging findings on creative ageing from both the Centre for Cultural Value and the Celebrating Age programme.

There’s a recent report on Greater 91ֱ�� Culture Champions on the website and we are planning more work on citizen-led cultural activity. CADA ask that you please get in touch if you have examples of work where older people take the lead that you would like to share.

The website also includes a map detailing major national investment in ageing by the National Community Lottery Fund (the Ageing Better programme) and Arts Council England (Celebrating Age) and the location of members of the Age Friendly Communities network (Centre for Ageing Better) across England link. You can check out your locality.

CADA has begun an initial piece of work about creative ageing in South Asian communities working with Arti Prashar and Elizabeth Lynch and THEY will post progress on THE site in the next few months.

Understanding that social infrastructures are the shared spaces in our communities that provide opportunities for social interaction and support the development of social relationships, Yarker delves into how shared social spaces and cohesive communities are especially important for creating a positive environment in which to age. With an emphasis on how older people rely more on neighbourhood-based networks, this book highlights the crucial importance of diverse spaces in which to develop and maintain social connections as we grow older.

Drawing on existing research from urban studies, sociology, human geography and social gerontology, this book makes the case for a better appreciation of the often fleeting and minimal interactions that we have every day in our own neighbourhood. Sophie Yarker demonstrates how it is these interactions, and these everyday spaces, that can increase a sense of social connectedness for older people as well as enhance their connection to place.

You can contact Turpin Distribution to order. Quote code EMERALD30

Turpin - UK & RoW
Tel: +44 (0) 1767 604 951
E-mail: custserv@turpin-distribution.com

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Experience with computers is not required as the tasks only require a simple button press or mouse click response, with clear instructions provided beforehand.

Each of the 16 sessions will be completed on a different day. You would be asked to complete these sessions following a fixed schedule. The schedule that you will follow depends on which group you are randomly allocated to during your first session. It is very important that you follow your given schedule throughout the training.

• Schedule A: The 16 sessions will be spaced over 8 weeks. You will perform 2 sessions a week for 8 weeks. The 2 sessions per week will be spaced 2 days apart. For example, you could decide to do Monday and Wednesday each week. Or, Thursday and Saturday each week etc. You must stick to the same schedule each week. We ask that you try and perform each session at a similar time of day wherever possible.
• Schedule B: The 16 sessions will be spaced over 4 weeks. You will perform 4 sessions a week for 4 weeks. The 4 sessions per week will be performed on consecutive days. You can choose which consecutive days to perform the training. For example, you could decide to complete the sessions on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week. Or, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday each week etc. You must stick to the same schedule each week. We ask that you try and perform each session at a similar time of day wherever possible.

Each session will last approximately 20 minutes (though two sessions will last ~40-55 minutes). You will be reimbursed for your time (Love2Shop e-voucher).

For the study participants must:

• Provide informed consent.
• Be aged 55 years or above.
• Have normal or corrected-to-normal vision.
• Be a fluent English-speaker.

Due to the nature of this study, the following exclusion criteria have been specified:

• Severe non-correctable visual impairments (as the computer-based tasks require you to be able to read text presented on a monitor either with or without glasses).
• Colour blindness.
• History of alcohol or substance abuse or dependency.
• History of neurological conditions such as Mild Cognitive Impairment, Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease etc.
• History of psychiatric conditions such as depression (if not in remission) or schizophrenia etc.

If you are interested in taking part or finding out more information please email samantha.booth@manchester.ac.uk.

On 9 November, they have planned the first ever Age-friendly Cities and Communities Summit, an event designed to showcase the importance of the development and adaption of environments resilient to the needs of people at all stages of life, inclusive of older people, which will allow sustainable social and economic advancement for cities, communities, and the global community.

will be presenting a plenary session at the summit on 9 November, titled: Incorporating the Voices of Older People.

For further information, and to register for the event:  

The report is a comprehensive review of COVID-19 effects and responses, intended as a resource for professional users of longevity data including actuaries, risk managers, public health professionals, epidemiologists and researchers.

While COVID-19 as an event has driven headline reductions in longevity, this over-simplifies; the most pronounced effects are in vulnerable groups where inequality has widened, while broader trend changes will depend far more on little-understood factors like variants, Long COVID and socio-economic impacts on longevity.

The pandemic has cost an estimated 155,000 lives in the UK and more than 4.5m lives globally, and while its impact has been profound, the data suggests that approximately 76% of total COVID deaths were in patients in the top 5% for the highest predicted risk. These risk factors are varied, including everything from heart disease to obesity. By far the most substantial of these is age, with the risk of death increasing about 10% for each year of age.

Despite these health-based factors being significant, mortality rates from COVID-19 within the UK tend to be higher in deprived areas and vary by region, with the highest rates observed in the North.

Areas with higher rates of deprivation have generally experienced higher rates of mortality, partly because of overcrowded living conditions and poor-quality housing. This is also due to the fact that workers in lower socioeconomic groups, on lower pay and in more deprived areas, tend to have less control over their working conditions, such as being unable to work remotely. According to the data, the mortality rate for men in professional occupations, for instance, was 12 in every 100,000, whereas those in ‘elementary occupations’ saw a rate of 40 in every 100,000.

Black and Asian minority groups have had a significantly higher likelihood of death from COVID-19, even taking into account deprivation, health and geography. For example, COVID-19 mortality for people of Black African or Black Caribbean ethnicity in the first half of 2020 was 2 to 2.5 times higher than for people of White ethnicity according to the Office for National Statistics.

The pandemic is far from over with uncertainty going forward, such as the potential emergence of new variants, Long COVID and how backlog in the NHS might affect population longevity.

The Chair of LSP, Dame Karen Dunnell concluded: “The pandemic has had a devastating impact on us. On the other hand, it has unleashed many untapped resources of energy, flexibility, innovation and a “can do” approach to challenges. However, there are still many unknowns, such as the effects of Long COVID or the impact of delayed diagnoses and treatment of non-COVID conditions. There also remains the potential emergence of faster-spreading or more virulent variants; they require our continual surveillance. Success in managing the pandemic, as we move into its endemic stage, will require effective global efforts in immunisation, monitoring, healthcare, public behaviour and scientific developments.”

Professor Debora Price, Professor of Social Gerontology at the University of Manchester said: “The pandemic has plainly exposed the many structural and systemic inequalities in our societies that people live with from day to day and that have become a matter of life and death. Health inequalities have worsened, and for women, the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities in almost all areas of life, setting the equality agenda back decades. If we are to learn anything from this experience, it must surely be that we critically examine the unequal distribution of power and resources from the local to the global, and work out how to create a more equal society through social investment and social protection.”

In the weeks since, the report and animation have featured in numerous websites and blogs by legal and pension advisors, including  and .

The Guardian, Daily Mail and FT Advisor have also run articles on the research, whilst co-author of the report and former MICRA Director Professor Debbie Price is contributing to further articles scheduled for the winter months by FT Advisor, Solicitor’s Journal and the Actuary.

Debbie will also be speaking on this topic at the Resolution annual conference (the major family law conference in the UK) on the 21 October (online this year)

A reminder that you can  and you can .

Francisca Ortiz and Louise Mitchell celebrated a wonderful run from 2019-2021 as MICRA PhD Network co-chairs. In that time, they hosted coffee mornings, dealt with the change in circumstance due to the pandemic, and transitioned the planned 2020 PhD and Early Career Researcher Conference from a physical event to a virtual conference. They continued the online events with seminars, lectures, workshops and training events, and then hosted an acclaimed online seminar on “” which featured academic speakers from the three GM partner universities.

The event on 28 September introduced the three new co-chairs for 2021-22. These are Siobhan Kelly (University of Salford), Hannah Cross (University of Manchester) and Shunqi Zhang (University of Manchester).

Siobhan is in the second year of her Sociology PhD programme at the University of Salford. Her research investigates the lived experience of older charity shop volunteers in the North West of England in order to better understand active ageing within the community.

Hannah is a second-year PhD student at the University of Manchester. Her PhD is funded by the Alzheimer’s Society and focused on addressing the communication needs of residents living with hearing loss and dementia in long-term care homes.

Shunqi is also a PhD student at the University of Manchester. Her research focuses on the association between social participation and health among older adults in China.

The new co-chairs are developing plans for events in 2022, and have also initiated a virtual writing space. They are planning to continue the MICRA PhD newsletter and blog, and are hoping to launch a podcast.

Follow the MICRA PhD Network on Twitter @.

You can .

All are welcome to attend. The series will be on Zoom and you can . A full list of the 2021/22 conversation series is below.

Urban Ageing and Co-production

19 October 3-4pm GMT

Liesbeth de Donder from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Mo Ray from the University of Lincoln will talk about interdisciplinary co-creation and using knowledge exchange events as a co-production method.

Urban Ageing and Social Infrastructure

23 November 3-4pm GMT

Sophie Yarker from the University of Manchester talks about her forthcoming book with Paul McGarry from the Greater 91ֱ�� Combined Authority.

Urban Ageing and Spatial Justice

15 February 3-4pm GMT

Sheila Peace from the Open University and Jarmin Yeh from University of California, San Francisco will discuss the meaning of place to older people and the need to promote social justice in urban, ageing neighbourhoods.

Urban Ageing and Comparative Research

5 April 3-4pm GMT

Wilbert Den Hoed from Universitat Rovira i Virgili will be sharing examples of comparative research supporting the policy development within age-friendly cities.

Urban Ageing and Structural Racism

7 June 3-4pm GMT

James Nazroo from the University of Manchester will host a conversation about racism, ageing and urban environments.

In response to the pandemic, many local authorities changed the way that they assessed and delivered support services, including day centres, and the provision of care and support at home.

Researchers at The University of Manchester are undertaking research that aims to improve understanding of how these changes may have impacted people living with dementia and their partners. They are particularly interested in hearing from people who live in Greater 91ֱ��.

The research team would like to talk to carers:

• aged 70 years or over
• that care for a partner or spouse who is living with dementia at home

Taking part involves having a conversation with a researcher over the telephone or zoom, for approximately one hour, on a date and time that is convenient for you.

If you would like to take part or would like more information about the study, please contact Jayne Astbury: jayne.astbury@manchester.ac.uk or 07385 463 137

The paper proposes that post-COVID-19 recovery strategies for cities and communities should build on at least six interrelated age-friendly principles: first, supporting the most vulnerable and prioritising resources in deprived areas; second, challenging the narrative on ageing and combatting ageism; third, promoting age inclusivity in the post-pandemic city; fourth, investing in community-based services, social infrastructure and green spaces; fifth, developing locally based partnerships across organisational boundaries; and sixth, involving older people in designing smart, liveable and resilient cities of the future.

.

MMU, whose centre is in Istanbul, is a regional Local Government Association in Turkey with over 190 members from the Marmara Region. The forum will take place as a virtual event on the theme of “Cities Developing Solutions: Re-Think, Co-Act” on 1-3 October 2021.

The event aims to bring together urban thinkers around passionate debates on how to make cities more livable, sustainable, resilient, creative, inclusive, innovative and healthy. Tine's presentation is titled: "Locked down by inequality: Older people and the COVID-19 pandemic” Her session will be held on 2 October 2021 at 10.00-11.15 (GMT+3, in Turkish Time).

For more information on MARUF:

The book offers a unique interdisciplinary perspective on the challenges posed by the globalisation of the life course and challenges to the welfare state. Through a variety of case studies, it covers a wide range of migration scenarios: those who migrate in later life; migrants from earlier years who age in place; and old people who hire migrant caregivers.

Across a wide variety of situations, it highlights that migration can both create risks for older people, but also serve as an answer to challenges associated with social, economic, and health issues.

This release is part of the Life Course Research and Social Policies book series and .

This has been published by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Co-author Dr Tine Buffel told MICRA: “The article examines the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on low-income communities, and develops a set of proposals for building a long-term community-based strategy to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The paper is available to read in full, open access and can be accessed at .

They are welcoming participants from all sectors. In particular, the researchers would like to speak to individuals aged 30-50 who are earning roughly between £12,000-£20,000 per annum and living in Greater 91ֱ�� or the surrounding northwest region of England.

The research team is especially interested in understanding how people in this kind of work manage their financial situation in the absence of benefits from an employer such as full-time hours, sick pay, maternity pay, and pensions. They believe that working in a more precarious situation places an increased level of personal or financial risk on people that in other kinds of work would be shared with an employer, and they want to know how people feel about that.

To find out more or to take part in an online Zoom or Skype interview please contact Kris Fuzi: kristian.fuzi@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk. 

Researchers are keen to hear from people from these groups on the following questions:

• How has COVID-19 and the lockdowns affected you?

• Has the pandemic impacted your work, finances, housing, health and education?

• Have you experienced racism or religious discrimination during the pandemic?

Available in 14 languages, the survey will take 30 minutes of your time and you will receive a gift voucher on completion as a thank you. The findings will affect change on racial justice and equalities and will help ensure that your experiences aren’t erased from history.

To participate, you need to be 18+. Taking part is voluntary and your details will be confidential. The survey closes on Wednesday 28 July 2021.

The presentations explored the challenges involved in meeting the needs of more diverse ageing populations in cities, facing a variety of cultural, economic and social pressures.

Introduction: ‘co-producing Spatial Justice With Older People’

Dr Tine Buffel, Director of Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group, University of Manchester

Tine Buffel provided an overview of the latest research by the 91ֱ�� Urban Ageing Research group, demonstrating how this work contributes to creating ‘spatial justice’ by working in partnership with older people, community organisations and local government.

Keynote: ‘Challenging Inequalities In Age-friendly Practice: Alternative Approaches To Community Collaboration’

Prof. Emily Greenfield, School of Social Work at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Emily Greenfield described the potential of integrating theories of community collaboration within age-friendly policy and practice to make progress toward the movement’s growing aspirational emphasis on equity in health and ageing.

Discussant: ‘Implementing Age-friendly Policies In Greater 91ֱ��: Strategies, Challenges And Reflections’

Paul McGarry, Assistant Director of the Greater 91ֱ�� Ageing Hub, Greater 91ֱ�� Combined Authority 

Paul McGarry demonstrated the potential for stimulating strategic age-friendly policy approaches at a local and regional level whilst highlighting the pressures facing urban authorities at a time of economic austerity.

During the launch, Tine mentioned a that will help shape the Ageing in Place in Cities project. Please share your thoughts and feel free to share the survey with others.

For more information about the 91ֱ�� Urban Ageing Research Group and their latest work, see:

• The
• The Ageing in Place in Cities project
• Follow us on Twitter:
• Read our report on