Research as an essentiality beyond one's own competence: an interview study on frail older people's view of research.

BACKGROUND

There is an increased interest to make the voices of frail older people heard in research by actively involving them in research processes. Involving frail older people in research could, however, be perceived as challenging by researchers. To actively involve frail older people in research processes in a meaningful way, the knowledge about their own views on what research is must be widened and deepened.

METHODS

Individual interviews were conducted with 17 frail older men and women with former experience of participation in research studies. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis.

RESULTS

Frail older people's views on what research means are described through the main category; An essentiality beyond one's own competence, which describes research as a complex process that is important for society but difficult to understand. This is described in the sub-categories; A driving force for societal development, A benefit when based on lived experience, A source of knowledge difficult to access and understand, and A respected job filled with responsibilities.

CONCLUSION

Different views on research from the perspective of frail older people show that research is viewed as a complex yet important phenomenon to frail older people. Research was also seen as a natural part in society. Research was viewed as difficult to access and understand. Thus, researchers must train themselves to communicate research findings to the public in an understandable way. To create common understandings through information and education, researchers might be better placed to involve frail older people in a meaningful way and thereby also have the possibility to develop good working practice and relationships with those involved.

It is essential to the make voices of frail older people heard in research. Therefore, there is a growing interest to find ways to involve this group. However, to involve them in research is perceived as challenging for many researchers and frail older people might be excluded without acceptable reasons for exclusion. For frail older people to be involved in research processes, researchers must understand older peoples views, how to engage them and how to make research more inclusive. We therefore interviewed seventeen frail older people about their view of research, i.e., we asked questions on what research is and what it means for them. We found that research is viewed as important and necessary for societal development, but also as a something that is difficult to understand for the interviewed group. The participants did not feel competent or responsible for conducting research, and they respected researchers who they viewed as a group with great knowledge. Another pattern in the interviews was that the participants viewed research on frail older people’s everyday issues as important, and that this was an area where they could contribute. What we can learn from these descriptions is that it is important to strive for collaboration that attends to the different experiences and needs of frail older people and support them to understand research findings and make their voices heard in an allowing research environment.

Informations de copyright

© 2021. The Author(s).