Researchers from the Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR) have been awarded a major grant of £892,518 from the Nuffield Foundation to establish the ‘Wellbeing in Later Life in Bradford’ cohort study, in partnership with the Universities of Leeds, Edinburgh, Manchester and Hull-York Medical School at University of Hull.
Wellbeing is a positive and sustainable state in which people can thrive and flourish. However, there are unfair and avoidable differences in wellbeing for older people. Numerous issues, including age, frailty, gender, ethnicity, and living in more deprived areas, can interact with and impact on wellbeing in later life.
The research team aims to produce new findings on factors that improve or reduce wellbeing in later life, focusing on frailty, care transitions, care needs, and care networks. These important new findings will help the NHS and social care to improve services to meet the needs of all members of society in later life.
The study will aim to recruit 400 people aged 65 years and over, along with any caregivers they live with, who will be interviewed every six months for two years. This will enable the timely review of older people as they experience frailty-related transitions or events. ‘Wellbeing in Later Life in Bradford’ will also focus on maximising recruitment of ethnic minority groups to ensure that factors that improve or reduce wellbeing in later life can be investigated amongst people of different ethnicities.
The research will build on the success of the existing Community Ageing Research 75+ (CARE75+) study, which started out in Bradford, and will work in partnership with the internationally-recognised Born in Bradford team.
The study, which will take nearly four years, is being jointly led by Jamilla Hussain, Consultant in Palliative Care Medicine and Senior Research Fellow at the BIHR, and Andy Clegg, Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Consultant Geriatrician at the University of Leeds and BIHR.
Jamilla said:
We know that there are persistent inequalities in health in later life, including at the time of death and during bereavement. We also know those from ethnic minority groups and poorer backgrounds have some of the worst outcomes, such as frailty and loss if independence in older age.
Coming from such a background I am keen to see action to address this unfairness. As a doctor and academic, I also know we need high-quality studies to help us understand where our efforts should focus to improve outcomes; this study will provide those insights.
Andy said:
We are delighted with this prestigious award, which will enable us to better understand how we can maximise wellbeing at all stages of later life. The study will include a focus on people who are living with frailty, including those who may be entering the final stage of life. This is important as there is limited research to understand how we can sustain wellbeing across these important life stages, meaning that the study will be at the forefront of international research in this area.
Alex Beer, Head of Grants Operations and Portfolio Development at the Nuffield Foundation said:
There are significant data gaps that limit our understanding of older people’s wellbeing, including little knowledge of experiences of care and quality of life in the final stages of life. Existing datasets limit how far analysis can pursue inequalities beyond those of age, gender, and class.
There is a particular lack of data about inequalities among older people by ethnicity or where they live. ‘Wellbeing in Later Life in Bradford’ is creating a truly novel data infrastructure to learn about and address these gaps. It also aims to lay the groundwork for a future multi-site cohort study with exciting opportunities to support policymakers, services and communities to maximise wellbeing in later life for those most at risk of poor outcomes.
The ‘Wellbeing in Later Life in Bradford’ study will be starting recruitment of participants in April 2025. The team will be working with GP practices in Bradford to identify people who are eligible to join the study and sending invitation letters out from the practices.