Family? Friends? Neighbours? What do we need for a good life?
A study at FAU wants to find out what makes people over the age of 75 happy
How can we improve our lives? Is being healthy all it takes? Which role do family, friends and other people play? Is being alone and having time for yourself also important? The new project “Gesundheit und soziale Teilhabe” (GesTe) from the Institute of Psychogerontology at FAU deals with these topics, addressing people over the age of 75. In the upcoming weeks, about 10,000 people in the Nuremberg area will be interviewed.
The research project is funded by the Theo and Friedl Schöller foundation. Researchers are exploring how important social participation is for satisfaction in old age as well as for health, and how social isolation and exclusion can be overcome. New approaches to strengthening social participation in old age are also to be developed, scientifically tested, and evaluated.
The Institute of Psychogerontology at FAU has been researching questions of mental health and quality of life in old age for many years. Recent findings are pointing towards the importance of societal and technological advance. Many older people feel left behind and for some, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with the changes. Those and similar concerns have partially become amplified by the pandemic and lead to new insecurities. However, some older people manage to find good solutions and options that give meaning to their lives and allow them to enjoy life despite their difficult circumstances. Often, this is connected to supposedly ‘small’ pleasures and positive experiences encountered in the day-to-day and to personal attitudes that people live by. However, the special challenges and conditions of a good life in old age have not been investigated thoroughly in psychological research on ageing yet, and they require new approaches such as the one undertaken by the FAU project.
Who can participate, and how?
The research team will be starting with a survey of senior citizens of the Nuremberg region above the age of 75. To achieve this, 10,000 randomly selected individuals will be contacted and invited to fill in a questionnaire. It is important to the success of the project that as many people as possible in as many different life situations as possible fill in the questionnaire.
After the survey, participants can agree to individual interviews. In this step, individual experiences, life situations and preferences will be recorded and documented. Based on the results of these conversations, the researchers will then together with the participants develop concrete suggestions, plans and exercises to address their individual wishes, plans and goals. Initially, the focus will be on three topics: reactivating and intensifying relationships, improved and positive experiences in the day-to-day, as well as education and information concerning health related topics of everyday life.
Find details about the study here: http://www.geronto.fau.de/geste (available in German)
Learn more about the Institute: https://www.geronto.fau.de/en/
For further information, feel free to contact:
Prof. Dr. Frieder Lang
Institute of Psychogerontology
Tel.: 0911 / 5302-96115