Research

 
 
Female doctor
Research is an important part of Age UK’s work because it has the power to transform older peoples’ lives for the better.

What Age UK does

Age UK aims to improve outcomes for older people in a wide variety of areas that may affect their lives. First-class research, knowledge and research partnerships support this aim. We:

  • carry out research ourselves to generate authoritative evidence on age and ageing to achieve change and development in policy and services for older people
  • fund research carried out by others that will lead to positive solutions for later life
  • are a hub for knowledge about older people and issues in ageing for ourselves and others
  • work in partnership with others from a local to global level to support the promotion and generation of age-related research and the uptake of new knowledge

At Age UK, we focus our research funds exclusively on later life.

Our research supports Age UK’s vision of a world in which older people flourish. 

Find out more about Age UK's vision and aims

To achieve this vision, Age UK focuses on five core areas of work

  • Money Matters
  • Health and Wellbeing
  • Travel and Lifestyle
  • Home and Care
  • Work and Learning

We also work on issues that may relate to one or more of the areas at any one time, for example prejudice and discrimination against older people.

The Disconnected Mind

Cognitive decline and dementia represent one of the greatest health challenges of the 21st century.

Age UK funds The Disconnected Mind, a multidisciplinary research programme on cognitive ageing led by Professor Ian Deary at the University of Edinburgh.

The programme aims to understand how changes in the brain's white matter - its connectivity - contribute to age-related cognitive decline in people.

Find out more on this site or visit opens link in new window the University's website

Advice and guidance on research with older people

There are several excellent resources available for researchers.

Studies that involve NHS patients may be eligible for service support from the NIHR Clinical Research Network.

 opens link in new window Find out more about the CRN or you can opens link in new window visit the CRN pages for researchers.

Advice on clinical research and CRN support specifically for age-related studies is available from the Network's Age and Ageing Specialty Group. For more information, including details for your local representative, and to watch a video about Brian, an older particpant in research,  opens link in new window visit the Group's website.

DeNDRoN has a opens link in new window Toolkit for Care Home Research.

The LSE School of Social Care Research has a page of opens link in new window Research Methods Reviews, which are written by experts, on topics such as end-of-life care and care home research methods. 

Later Life in the UK factsheet

  • This factsheet, which is updated on a monthly basis, is the most up-to-date source of publicly available, general information on people in later life in the UK.

    Help with downloads

    Downloads

    What is a download?

    A download is a document (like a research report, a leaflet, or an application form) that can be transferred from our website to your computer. You can download a file, view it on your screen, print it, or save it to your computer.

    What is a PDF?

    PDF stands for ‘portable document format’.

    Most downloads on this website are PDFs. We use this format to ensure that the document looks the same on everyone’s computer (website pages, by contrast, appear differently depending on how people have set their computer up).

    How do I download a PDF?

    Computers use a program called Adobe Acrobat Reader to download PDFs. If you try clicking on a link to download a PDF and it doesn’t work, you will need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader onto your computer.

    How do I install Adobe Acrobat Reader?

    The process is quite straightforward and is free.

    1. Go to opens link in new window opens link in new window http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/
    2. Click ‘Download’.
    3. Wait for the window to offer you the option to ‘Run’, then choose this option.
    4. Click ‘Next’.
    5. Click ‘Install’
    6. Wait for the window to offer you the option to ‘Finish’, then choose this option.

    How do I change a download?

    PDFs cannot be changed. If you need to be able to type into a downloaded document (for example, if we are offering a letter template that you need to put your name on) we will provide it as a Microsoft Word document rather than a PDF. You can then download it, type into it and save it to your computer.

    How do I print or save a download?

    Downloads will open on your computer in a new browser window.

    Inside this window (below all your web browser menus), there will be a toolbar with options for you to print or save the document.

    Close the browser window to return to the Age UK website.

    Can my screen reader read PDF downloads?

    We have made every effort to make our PDFs accessible to screen readers. Here is an overview of your accessibility options available in Acrobat Reader. Please ensure that you have downloaded the latest version of Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Reader website to ensure that they are included in your version of the programme.

    You can use Adobe Reader to read a PDF out loud with the following shortcut keys:

    • Read the document: Shift +Ctrl+Y
    • Read the open page only: Shift +Ctrl+V
    • Read to the end of the document: Shift+Ctrl+B
    • Pause: Shift+Ctrl+C
    • Stop Shift+Ctrl+E

    You can also convert a PDF into a web page by following these steps:

    • Copy the URL (web address) of the document (right-click on the link and select ‘Save target as’ or ‘Copy link’).
    • Open the Adobe online conversion tool in your browser and paste the URL into the URL box.
    • Tick the HTML box on the Format option and click ‘Convert’.

    You can convert a PDF document into a text file for use with other software and hardware such as Braille printers by opening the PDF and choosing ‘Save as text’ from the File menu.

Contact us

Research Department
Age UK
Tavis House 
1-6 Tavistock Square 
London
WC1H 9NA

Email us

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