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Biography

Professional biography

A critical gerontologist with expertise and interest in :(1) the intersections of ageing, place and wellbeing, and; (2) intimate and family ties of older adults. 

Qualifications

PhD, University of Dundee

Masters in Planning, School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, India

Bachelor in Architecture,College of Engineering, Trivandum, India

Research interests

More than ever, demographic ageing of populations has brought considerations of ageing and living well centre stage. Living well brings into focus questions about ‘wellbeing ’ and ‘place’ broadly construed (to include the material, social, emotional and symbolic). However, discourses, assumptions and expectations around age and ageing, that are deeply and simultaneously personal, historical, cultural, social and political, belie simplistic understandings of living well. My PhD work in considering whether moving home can secure wellbeing at older ages argued for bringing together, ‘relational’ frameworks of place and wellbeing to conceptualising residential mobility in later life.

My overall line of inquiry: How best to develop and operationalise relational frameworks that acknowledge and are sensitive to values and processes in diverse ageing environments?

In my recently completed British Academy/Leverhulme Small Grant project (2017), ‘Coupledom in later life: living together and apart’ (SG170463), Prof. Sheila Peace, Dr. Caroline Holland and I explored how older couples sustain relationships when living apart through care home move separation. Shedding light on the relational,  place and wellbeing implications for older couples, this work challenges the stereotype of ‘single older person’. I have a sustained interest in exploring environments for ageing and living well and more recently in my current project, for older minority ethnic groups. I am also very keen to work collaboratively and in meaningful ways with communities and other stakeholders to  co-create sustainble legacies, exchange knowledge, and support translation of research into practice and policy.

I currently supervise two doctoral students at The Open University and would welcome applications from potential PhD students. I am also the current Co-Lead of CABS, the Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies Research Group at The Open University. The research group brings together a dynamic group of academics and postgraduates researching diverse aspects and topics of ageing.

Esteem indicators:

Co-editor, Families, Relationships and Societies (2020-)

Member, British Society of Gerontology (2015-)

Member, Future Leaders Fellowships (FLF) Peer Review College (PRC) (2019-)

Peer reviewer: Abbeyfield Research Foundation

Peer reviewer: Qualitative Research in Health, Buildings and Cities

Panel member, Housing 21 Conference (2021): How is housing responding to the diverse housing and care needs of older people?

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Teaching interests

I am the Module Chair for a level 1 module and teach level 1, 2 and 3 undergraduate modules at The Open University. My teaching draws on my research expertise. I am also interested in the Scholarship of Teaching and have recently completed work on two projects in collaboration with colleagues in the School and Faculty. The first project  explores the concerns of students with caring responsiblities, studying at a distance with a view to inform policies and practices aimed at supporting and retaining such students. The second project explores student motivation in digital learning environments through assessing the impact of using pedagogic digital tools to motivate and develop students as self-directed learners.

Perspectives in Health and Social Care (K118)

Critical Issues in Health and Wellbeing (K219)

Leading, managing, caring (K318)

Investigating health and social care (K323)

External collaborations

Ms Jane Palmer [CEO, Age UK, Milton Keynes], Dr Andrew Balfour [Clinical Psychologist and CEO, The Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships, London] and Professor Julienne Meyer, [Professor of Nursing care for older adults at City University, London, and Executive Director, UK wide collaborative programme, ‘My Home Life’ (MHL)] : Coupledom in later life: living together and apart.

 

Projects

Development of a model of relational care for care homes and community-based settings in the UK

This project will develop a model of relational care and a tool that a) assesses the extent to which dimensions of relational care are present in a particular care setting for the purpose decision-making, standards-setting and inspections and (b) encouraging and embedding more widespread use of relational care.

‘Amar bari, amar jibon’ [My home, my life]: developing suitable living environments for Bangladeshi elders

This project aims to : 1) develop an evidence base that hears from older adults from Bangladeshi communities living in London about their lived experiences of place - home, housing and neighbourhood environments, its implications for wellbeing and what constitutes ‘suitable living environments and pathways’ for ageing well ; and, 2) together with our community partners coproduce evidence- based recommendations that can be used to raise awareness , inform local housing and ageing well strategies to develop suitable living environments.

Coupledom in later life - Living apart and together

This pilot qualitative study aims to develop understanding of how couple (married and cohabiting) relationships in later life are experienced and maintained when partners are separated by movement into a care home. Evidence suggests that high quality couple relationships in later life positively influence wellbeing of both spouses (Umberson et al 2006). Ongoing wider research on loneliness, quality of life, care and caring speaks to the significance of (social) relationships in later life. Yet missing from such debates is attention to those minority but highly complex relationships that are lived out across different residential environments. Extending understandings of the dynamics of such relationships under-researched in British context, findings from thirty interviews with 10 couples will be shared with practitioners contributing to development of inclusive, cost-effective interventions for separated care home residents and their spouses. The study has wider relevance across fields of social care, social work, clinical psychology and families and relationships.

Publications

Digital Artefact

Being needed - fulfilling the potential of mutual relationships (2023)

Journal Article

Acceptability of Remote Monitoring in Assisted Living/Smart Homes in the United Kingdom and Associated Use of Sounds and Vibrations—A Systematic Review (2024)

Beyond Filial Piety: Rethinking Aging and Caregiving in Contemporary East Asian Societies by Jeanne Shea, Katrina Moore and Hong Zhang (eds) (2020) (2022)

Remembering David Morgan and his work: collaborations, inspirations and new applications (2022)

Learning in the Fourth Age: the role of physical activity interventions for people living in long term facilities (2022)

Enduring commitment: older couples living apart (2022)

Enduring commitment: older couples living apart (2022)

Moving residence in later life: actively shaping place and wellbeing (2021)

Barriers and facilitators to adherence to walking group exercise in older people living with dementia in the community: a systematic review (2020)

Barriers and facilitators to adherence to group exercise in institutionalized older people living with dementia: a systematic review (2018)

Thinking about Later Life: Insights from the Capability Approach (2018)

Conserving habitus: Home, couplehood and dementia (2018)

[Book Review] Anthony Alexander Britain’s New Towns: Garden Cities to Sustainable Communities. Abingdon: Routledge, 2009 (2011)

Construction of environmental knowledge: experiences from India (2008)

Other

Relational Care - with Mary Larkin and Manik Deepak-Gopinath [Podcast] (2023)

When growing old together means living apart (2018)

Barriers and facilitators to adherence to walking group exercise in older people living with dementia in the community: a systematic review protocol (2018)

Barriers and facilitators to adherence to group exercise in institutionalised older people living with dementia: a systematic review (2017)

Presentation / Conference

Meanings of home for older couples and spouse caregivers (2017)

The significance of bodily impairments in place and wellbeing relationships – insights from a qualitative study of older people living in Scotland. (2016)

Moving residence to secure valued capabilities: insights from a qualitative study of relationships between place & wellbeing among older people living in Scotland (2015)

Report

Making every relationship matter: a practitioner toolkit for relational care with older people (2023)

The value and practice of relational care with older people: Summary Report of a research project carried out by the Open University (2023)

The value and practice of relational care with older people: a research report by The Open University (2023)

Thesis

Exploring Older Peoples’ Experiences Of Place And Wellbeing: A Qualitative Study (2015)