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Our Impact

Publications and Proceedings

2022

AWESSoM

Optimising function and well-being in older adults: Protocol for an integrated research programme in Aotearoa/New Zealand. BMC Geriatrics

Effectiveness of a complex intervention of group-based nutrition and physical activity to prevent frailty in pre-frail older adults (SUPER): a randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Healthy Longevity

Health and Wellness Coaching

Exploring facilitators and barriers to long-term behaviour change following Health Wellness Coaching for stroke prevention: A quantitative study, Auckland, New Zealand. 8th International Conference on Neurology and Epidemiology

Staying Upright and Eating Well

Effectiveness of a complex intervention of group-based nutrition and physical activity to prevent frailty in pre-frail older adults (SUPER): a randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Healthy Longevity

Frailty Trajectories

An interRAI derived frailty index predicts acute hospitalizations in older adults residing in retirement villages: A prospective cohort study. PLoS One

Retirement Villages

An interRAI derived frailty index predicts acute hospitalizations in older adults residing in retirement villages: A prospective cohort study. PLoS One

Recognising deterioration in residential aged care

Detecting Acute Deterioration in Older Adults Living in Residential Aged Care: A Scoping Review. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association

Whaioranga te Pā Harakeke

Feasibility and acceptability of a paeārahi (Indigenous Whānau Ora navigator) intervention for unintentional injury prevention for older Māori: non-randomised, non-comparator trial study protocol. Injury Prevention

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake Pōi

Mana motuhake, Indigenous biopolitics and health. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake

Mana motuhake, Indigenous biopolitics and health. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples

Lifecourse Project

Intergenerational, integrative and intellectual Pacific properties and pathways for life (IPforLife): a study protocol. Journal of Primary Health Care.

2021

Retirement Villages

Research in the retirement village community -The problems of recruiting a representative cohort of residents in Auckland, New Zealand. Australasian Journal on Ageing

Learning from a multidisciplinary randomized controlled intervention in retirement village residents. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Factors associated with healthcare utilization and trajectories in retirement village residents. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

An interRAI-derived frailty index is associated with prior hospitalisations in older adults residing in retirement villages. Australasian Journal on Ageing

Tai Kaumātuatanga

The case of a change in meaning and its impact. Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online

The voices of Kaumātua during Coronavirus COVID-19. MAI Journal

Reducing social isolation

Abey-Nesbit, R. (2021). Exploration of loneliness and informal carer stress in older adults. Eldernet

Risk Factors in Reduced Social Engagement

Abey-Nesbit, R. (2021). Exploration of loneliness and informal carer stress in older adults. Eldernet

Mā mua ka kite a muri; mā muri ka ora a mua

Ko ngā kaumātua ngā poupou o tō rātou ao: Kaumātua and kuia, the pillars of our understanding. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples

Ngā Kaumātua, ō Mātou Taonga

Ko ngā kaumātua ngā poupou o tō rātou ao: Kaumātua and kuia, the pillars of our understanding. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake

Enhancing well-being and social connectedness for Māori elders through a peer education (Tuakana-Teina) programme: A cross-sectional baseline study. Frontiers in Public Health

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake Pōi

Enhancing well-being and social connectedness for Māori elders through a peer education (Tuakana-Teina) programme: A cross-sectional baseline study. Frontiers in Public Health

AWESSoM

The diet quality and nutrition inadequacy of pre-frail older adults in New Zealand. Nutrients

Staying Upright and Eating Well

The diet quality and nutrition inadequacy of pre-frail older adults in New Zealand. Nutrients

Frailty Trajectories

Learning from a multidisciplinary randomized controlled intervention in retirement village residents. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Factors associated with healthcare utilization and trajectories in retirement village residents. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

An interRAI-derived frailty index is associated with prior hospitalisations in older adults residing in retirement villages. Australasian Journal on Ageing

Exploring the Needs of Pacific Families

The needs of Pacific families affected by age-related cognitive impairment in New Zealand: interviews with providers from health-care organisations. Journal of Primary Health Care

2020

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake Pōi: a study protocol for enhancing wellbeing, social connectedness and cultural identity for Māori elders. BMC Geriatrics

Maori becoming peer educators in later life: Impact on identity, wellbeing and social connectedness. Journals of Gerontology. Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences

Kaumātua mana motuhake in action: Developing a culture-centred peer support programme for managing transitions in later life. Ageing and Society

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake: Peer education intervention to help Māori elders during later-stage life transitions. BMC Geriatrics

Kaumātua mana motuhake in action: Developing a culture-centred peer support programme for managing transitions in later life. Ageing and Society

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake: A study protocol for a peer education intervention to help Māori elders work through later-stage life transitions. BMC Geriatrics

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake Pōi

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake Pōi: a study protocol for enhancing wellbeing, social connectedness and cultural identity for Māori elders. BMC Geriatrics

Maori becoming peer educators in later life: Impact on identity, wellbeing and social connectedness. Journals of Gerontology. Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences

Kaumātua mana motuhake in action: Developing a culture-centred peer support programme for managing transitions in later life. Ageing and Society

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake: Peer education intervention to help Māori elders during later-stage life transitions. BMC Geriatrics

Kaumātua mana motuhake in action: Developing a culture-centred peer support programme for managing transitions in later life. Ageing and Society

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake: A study protocol for a peer education intervention to help Māori elders work through later-stage life transitions. BMC Geriatrics

Neurodegeneration and Individual Interventions

Provision of palliative and end-of-life care in New Zealand residential aged care facilities: general practitioners’ perspectives. Australian Journal of Primary Health

A Place to live and to die: A qualitative exploration of the social practices and rituals of death in residential aged care. Omega (Westport)

Lonely in a crowd: Loneliness in New Zealand retirement village residents. International Psychogeriatrics

Palliative care delivery in residential aged care: Bereaved family member experiences of the Supportive Hospice Aged Residential Exchange (SHARE) intervention. BMC Palliative Care

Independence and Housing Tenure

‘You can’t put your roots down’: Housing pathways, rental tenure and precarity in older age. Housing Studies

Life when renting for older Māori. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples

Tenure insecurity, precarious housing and hidden homelessness among older renters in New Zealand. Housing Studies

Retirement Villages

Lonely in a crowd: Loneliness in New Zealand retirement village residents. International Psychogeriatrics

Health profile of residents of retirement villages in Auckland, New Zealand: Findings from a cross-sectional survey with health assessment. BMJ Open

Study protocol: Older people in retirement villages. A survey and randomized trial of a multi-disciplinary intervention designed to avoid adverse outcomes. BMC Geriatrics 

Study protocol: Older people in retirement villages. A survey and randomized trial of a multi-disciplinary intervention designed to avoid adverse outcomes. BMC Geriatrics

Frailty Trajectories

Health profile of residents of retirement villages in Auckland, New Zealand: Findings from a cross-sectional survey with health assessment. BMJ Open

Promoting social connection

‘People haven’t got that close connection’: Meanings of loneliness and social isolation to culturally diverse older people. Aging & Mental Health

Social Isolation

‘People haven’t got that close connection’: Meanings of loneliness and social isolation to culturally diverse older people. Aging & Mental Health

2019

Neurodegeneration and Individual Interventions

End of life care for long-term care residents with dementia, chronic illness and cancer: prospective staff survey. BMC Geriatrics

Patient-centred care training needs of health care assistants who provide care for people with dementia. Health and Social Care in the Community

The effect of residential aged care size, ownership model and multi-chain affiliation on resident comfort and symptom management at the end of life. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

Independence and Housing Tenure

The health of older New Zealanders in relation to housing tenure: analysis of pooled data from three consecutive, annual New Zealand Health Surveys. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health

Older residents’ experiences of islandness, identity and precarity: Ageing on Waiheke Island. Island Studies Journal 

Precariously placed: Home, housing and wellbeing for older renters. Health & Place

From ageing-driven growth towards the ending of growth. Subnational population trends in New Zealand. In: Anson J, Bartl W, Kulczycki A, editors. Studies in the Sociology of Population: International Perspectives. Cham: Springer International Publishing

Risk Factors in Reduced Social Engagement

Ageing, loneliness, and the geographic distribution of New Zealand’s interRAI-HC cohort. Social Science and Medicine

Evaluating the influence of social factors on aged residential care admission in a national home care assessment database of older adults. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association

Drug Burden Index

Drug burden index and its association with hip fracture among older adults: A national population-based study. Journals of Gerontology. Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences

Social Isolation

Social connectedness: What matters to older people? Ageing and Society

Lonely ageing in a foreign land: Social isolation and loneliness among older Asian migrants in New Zealand. Health and Social Care in the Community

Befriending services for culturally diverse older people. Journal of Gerontological Social Work

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake

Correlates of health-related quality of life for Māori elders involved in a peer education intervention. Journal of Health Communication

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake Pōi

Correlates of health-related quality of life for Māori elders involved in a peer education intervention. Journal of Health Communication

Staying Upright and Eating Well

Study protocol of a randomised controlled trial to examine the impact of a complex intervention in pre-frail older adults. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research

Retirement Villages

Research in the retirement village community – Does the recruited sample reflect the resident population? British Geriatrics Society Spring Meeting

Health of resident in retirement villages (RV): Who lives there, why they move in, and how does interRAI assess  their health needs? British Geriatrics Society Spring Meeting

2018

Drug Burden Index

Drug burden and its association with falls among older adults in New Zealand: A national population cross-sectional study. Drugs and Aging

Stroke and CVD Prevention

Primary prevention of stroke and cardiovascular disease in the community (PREVENTS): Methodology of a health wellness coaching intervention to reduce stroke and cardiovascular disease risk, a randomized clinical trial. International Journal of Stroke

Independence and Housing Tenure

Designing housing decision-support tools for resilient older people. Architectural Science Review

Neurodegeneration and Individual Interventions

“To a better place”: The role of religious belief for staff in residential aged care in coping with resident deaths. European Journal of Integrative Medicine

Risk Factors in Reduced Social Engagement

Profile of ethnicity, living arrangements and loneliness amongst older adults in Aotearoa New Zealand: A national cross-sectional study. Australasian Journal on Ageing

2017

Healthy Pacific Grandparents

Healthy Pacific grandparents: a participatory action research project exploring ageing well among Pacific people in New Zealand. Self & Society

Stroke and CVD Prevention

Feigin, V.L., Norrving, B., and Mensah, G.A. (2017). Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease through population-wide motivational strategies: insights from using smartphones in stroke prevention. BMJ Global Health, 2(2), e000306.

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake

Kaumatua mana motuhake: Kaumatua managing life-transitions through tuakana-teina/peer education. In The New Zealand Medical Journal: Proceedings of the Waikato Clinical Campus Biannual Research Seminar

Kaumātua Mana Motuhake Pōi

Kaumatua mana motuhake: Kaumatua managing life-transitions through tuakana-teina/peer education. In The New Zealand Medical Journal: Proceedings of the Waikato Clinical Campus Biannual Research Seminar

Independence and Housing Tenure

Impacts of leaky homes and leaky building stigma on older homeowners. Pacific Rim Property Research Journal

Neurodegeneration and Individual Interventions

Family experiences of the transition to palliative care in aged residential care (ARC): A qualitative study. International Journal of Palliative Nursing

2016

Risk Factors in Reduced Social Engagement

Comprehensive clinical assessment of home‐based older persons within New Zealand: an epidemiological profile of a national cross‐section. Australian and New Zealand journal of Public Health

Stroke and CVD Prevention

Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease through population-wide motivational strategies: Insights from using smartphones in stroke prevention. BMJ Global Health

Year in Review

Ageing Well produces a yearly analysis of the ageing-related research produced in Aotearoa New Zealand.

With updated research methodology:

2021

2020

2019

Older versions:

2018

2017

Community

The mission of Ageing Well is to harness science to sustain health and well-being into the later years of life enabling all New Zealanders to reach their full potential.

One of the key approaches underlying our research programme is engaging continuously with consumers and stakeholders from the aged care, health, disability, voluntary and community services sectors. They are at the front line of support for New Zealand’s older people in an increasingly diverse and complex ageing society.

Co-creation and co-development with the community are fundamental to the Ageing Well research programme and will take place in many dimensions—our research works:

  • Across multiple individuals, and multiple organisations, addressing all the different aspects that contribute to 
individuals crossing the disability threshold
  • With mātauranga Māori, Pacific and pakeha cultures
  • With our consumers and stakeholders from health and disability, voluntary, and community service sectors

Stakeholders critical to Ageing Well’s success

There is little more critical to the success of Ageing Well than involving the organisations and individuals who will implement the new knowledge delivered by Ageing Well.

Ageing Well has already consulted with policymakers and over 50 organisations that provide healthcare, accommodation or other support to older people and will continue to work with these groups to advance our Mission and Vision.

How do I get involved?

If you are interested in our work and would like to know more, we will send out regular newsletters to our distribution lists to provide updates and to signpost key upcoming activities.

If you would like to receive these newsletters, please sign up here.

You can also find us on social media: both on  Twitter and on Facebook.

Well Balanced Exhibit

About

The Well Balanced Exhibit is a portable, interactive exhibit that encourages and guides people to keep moving and to age well. 

The exhibit is designed to educate New Zealanders about various components of balance and strength while providing an opportunity to test themselves.

Background & History

The Well Balanced exhibit was developed in collaboration with Professor Nancy Longnecker and students of the Centre for Science Communication at the University of Otago, and the Otago Museum.

The exhibit engages the public to learn how strength and balance changes throughout the life course by encouraging participants to test a range of physical functions such as balance, grip, and muscle strength.

The exhibit also provided participants with information on their strength and balance compared to others of a similar age, and what they can do to improve those abilities.

It is estimated that over 7000 people went through the Otago Museum exhibit in 2017 and observations by Science Communication students and Museum Staff confirmed that it was a popular exhibit for all ages.

Tours

The exhibition has travelled all over New Zealand. Some of the events the exhibit has attended include:

Utilising the Exhibit

If you are interested in using the Well Balanced exhibit, please feel free to contact us by email – ageingwell@otago.ac.nz

Our goal is for as many groups as possible to use the exhibit and get the great benefits of this entertaining and educational resource.

The exhibit is now fully transportable, either in part or in full.

Videos

Elder Birdsong Short Animation Film: Professor Merryn Gott’s Social Isolation Project

I’ll Care For You – Music Video and Music Video Commentary: Dr Ofa Dewes Tapinga ‘a Maama’ project