ABSTRACT
The inclusion of older people in research is a relatively new concept, predominantly explored in the UK, US, and Canada. There are a number of approaches to this type of research, and this plurality is apparent in the terminology appearing in the academic literature. “Inclusive research” overlaps with terms such as “user-led research”, “community research”, “participatory action research” (PAR), “collaborative research” and “co-research”. In this book, we decided to use the umbrella term “participatory approaches” to refer to different approaches that aim at including older adults as co-creators of the research cycle. A growing body of evidence shows that what we deemed “participatory approaches” may increase the relevance and applicability of the research. Contributions provided by older people when designing, implementing, and disseminating research may make studies more effective, credible, and cost effective. Additionally, there is growing acknowledgement of a moral imperative to involve individuals who are the focus of research about them. However, participatory approaches among many benefits imply also numerous challenges; critical concerns include the potential for marginalisation of older people from deprived communities who risk being labelled as uncooperative or unproductive if they do not volunteer to get involved in community projects.
This might partially explain why the involvement of older people as co-producers of the research process is not yet common practice. In order to address this challenge and make participatory approaches in ageing research more accessible to academics, practitioners, policy makers, and all who are interested in them, this chapter presents an overview of the field of participatory approaches in ageing research. We start by discussing common understandings and definitions of participatory approaches in ageing research and then proceed to their application across different research fields and research stages. Finally, we outline the structure of the book and the individual chapters.
