There has been increasing recognition that alcohol may be a source of problems for older people. This has been reflected in the increase in alcohol-related hospital admissions for people over 65. Although a neglected area in policy and research within the UK, studies from health and social care practice have drawn attention to the complexity of the issues for practitioners. This paper reports on qualitative research which aimed to generate a wider evidence base by exploring the circumstances in which older people drink, the meaning that drinking alcohol has for them and its impact, acknowledging that this can be a pleasurable and positive experience, as well as something that can have adverse health, financial, personal and interpersonal impacts. Design/methodology/approach A major challenge of the research, given the sensitive nature of the topic, was how to approach older people and ask about their experiences of alcohol use. A participatory methodology was developed in which older people were actively involved in designing and carrying out the research. Older co-researchers conducted 21 individual interviews and 3 focus groups with a diverse range of older research participants from different backgrounds and circumstances. Findings The findings indicate that participants engaged in different drinking styles which connected to complex relationships between individual biographies, personal circumstances and external factors. Recommendations for practice and policy development are made on the basis of these. Originality/value This is a sensitive topic involving stigma and practitioners have highlighted issues around lack of training and appropriate referral services as well as difficulties in approaching the topic with older people. In addition, there is a tension in the drive to promote service users' rights to have choices and the question of whether to intervene if those choices involve risky behaviour. Even less is known about the perspectives of older people themselves and more research is needed to understand the social, cultural and economic contexts of older people's drinking behaviour.

This paper explores the application of ethic of care principles to research practice. It reflects on a research partnership between a voluntary-sector organisation (VSO) for older people and a university research centre (URC). The focus is a participatory research project on older people and well-being in which older volunteers were involved as co-researchers. The shared values of the VSO's culture of practice and the participatory approach of the university researchers have enabled joint research projects to be developed within an ethic of care framework. The model sought to break down the barriers between expert and lay knowledge and encouraged the mutual recognition, sharing and validating of different areas of expertise. An ethic of care framework offers context-specific ways of understanding and responding to the ethical challenges of undertaking participatory research, and to the relational aspects of well-being identified by older people during the course of the work.

the lived experience of older people with MRP in this study was multifaceted and complex. Participants felt communication was poor around hospital discharge, and insufficient support with medicines was offered in the community when problems arose. Harm due to MRP might be reduced if the contributory factors described by patients inform clinical and policy-level intervention.

No abstract

No abstract