A new project: INNOVAGE

Stuart Parker and Sheila Kennedy, together with colleagues in CLAHRC-SY, The University of Sheffield’s Sociological Studies and the Sheffield Hallam University User Centred Healthcare Design Lab4Living, have been awarded £250K from the European Union FP7-Health-2012-Innovation call.

They will be working on a collaborative, multi-national and multi-disciplinary three year programme of work dedicated to developing, evaluating and implementing novel social innovations that will impact on improving the quality of life and well-being of older people.  

The programme aims to contribute to the EU goal of extending healthy life years and is built on close partnerships with end users and stakeholders, including older people themselves.  Working in seven different EU countries, with projects including physical activity, functional health and well-being of older people, the programme will deliver four social innovations and a new European platform to promote knowledge exchange about and the sustainable implementation of social innovations to promote well-being in later life.

The Sheffield-based project is about 'Improving Obesity Related Outcomes in Old Age'.  We aim to reduce the proportion of the European population who reach old age with problematic obesity, to minimise its negative health impacts and maximise functional health in old age.  

Using a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods and a programme of user-centred healthcare design activities involving participants in the South Yorkshire Cohort, we will develop an intervention that promotes playful inter- and intra-generational interactions around healthy and active ageing, exploring the potential of using new and emerging digital, sensor and social networking technologies.