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Julia Twigg Professor of Social Policy and Sociology, University of Kent
“ I think there probably is a failure to engage with the subjectivity of the last phases of life. It’ s partly a failure of resources, but it’ s also a failure of imagination. I think that’ s
Ian Philp Professor of Health Care for Older People, University of Warwick
“ I was asked to lead the development of the National Service Framework for Older People in England, and subsequently was asked to be the National Clinical Director for Old People, to implement the Framework and root out age discrimination in the NHS. That was my job description... I was known to some people at the Department of Health... [ and ] my team had won the prize for the Hospital
JOANNA BORNAT Emeritus Professor of Oral History, The Open University
“ When I got my chair, I called myself a Professor of Oral History. I wouldn’ t have called myself a gerontologist then because I never felt I was as immersed
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Robin Means Emeritus Professor of Health & Social Care, University of the West of England
“ I became very driven about the importance of what I call the housing dimension of community care. A lot of integrated working, as we now call it, is about the health and social care divide. But, the importance of bringing in housing: of having decent housing for older people,
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an understandable fear that we all have in facing these difficult stages of life. And I’ m afraid, I think, that’ s in the research community: in me, as much as in the outside.”
“ I’ m someone who works in ageing studies, and I bring to that a sociological understanding. But I don’ t see myself as primarily a sociologist, as it were. I see myself as someone who works in the field of ageing.”
Team of the Year Award for Older People’ s Care so they felt that I had a bit of credibility. I had this one hour sit-down with Frank Dobson [ then Secretary of State for Health ] and, at the end, he said,‘ Ian, I trust your experience, and your values, and your judgement. I want you to lead the development of the National Service Framework. I’ ll give you a team of 12 of my top civil servants. You have a blank sheet of paper. You write it. Three months, come up with the spec.’”
in it all … I didn’ t do a PhD in gerontology … there was no such thing as ageing as a topic when I did my undergraduate degree in sociology. So I didn’ t feel I had, sort of, been trained up in quite the ways other people were. And also, I had this parallel life as an oral historian.”
supporting people to make good housing decisions about whether they want to move or stay put, the importance of handyperson schemes, the importance of the disabled facilities grant in terms of home adaptations; I think all of that is really quite critical to older people. It’ s something I feel, at different points in my career, I’ ve been able to make a contribution about … getting that right fires me up.”
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Maria Evandrou Professor of Gerontology, University of Southampton“ We all hope that in some way, some small way, our research will make a difference: whether it’ s making a difference to older people’ s lives through our research; or shedding
Jay Ginn Retired; Associate of the Centre for Research on Ageing and Gender, University of Surrey; former Visiting Professor, King’ s College London Institute of Gerontology
“ Some people have said I’ m a pensions guru or an expert. That was a bit surprising to be described in that way. But I think I have opened up areas of the
Malcolm Johnson Emeritus Prof of Health and Social Policy, University of Bristol & Visiting Prof of Gerontology and End of Life Care, University of Bath
“ I’ m rather dismissive of people who come up with one idea when they’ re young and do nothing else, and who have one methodology and apply it everywhere. So, I haven’ t tried to use biographical techniques
Mary Gilhooly
Professor of Gerontology and Health Studies, Brunel University, London
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“ We have to be more open about the ways that we decline with old age. And we have to stop painting this rosy picture of... we can |
light on say, for example, the patterns and drivers of health inequalities; or the pension penalties of informal care provision; or making a difference to our students’ lives within our teaching and our PhD supervision.”
subject that other people have, I’ m very glad to say, jumped into … and extended them wonderfully, imaginatively, beyond what I did, and built on it, as I’ ve built on other people. It really has been standing on other people’ s shoulders. I’ ve done that, and then other people have stood on mine, and so it goes on.”
in every piece of research I’ ve ever done but in the topics that I’ ve chosen in recent years … I do use it. And it’ s especially important in studies of later life, where you want to induce people to talk about the recent past, and now, and the future. Engaging with their life stories in order to get them into a way of thinking about the present and the future is a very powerful method, so I continue to use it.”
all run marathons when we’ re 70. And we can all do a million things. And we can all work at the same capacity. We need to think about how, without humiliating people, we can... use the skills of older people instead of just saying, well they’ re in phased retirement, just ignore them.”
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