Life-Course Marginalities of Positive Health and Aging: A Participatory Approach Integrating the Lived Experiences of Older Irish Travelers and Older Homeless Adults in Multistakeholder Research Processes

Kieran Walsh, Brídín Carroll, Anne MacFarlane, Diarmuid O’Donovan, Peter Cush

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

There is increased emphasis on adopting positive health and aging policy goals for heterogeneous older populations, and recognition of the role that participatory research approaches can play in supporting their implementation. However, questions remain about how to represent the marginalized experiences of some older populations within such processes. With a focus on older Irish ethnic Travelers and older homeless adults as two vulnerable populations in Ireland, this article presents and critically discusses a participatory approach developed to integrate marginalized older adult perspectives on positive health and aging in a multistakeholder research and development process. The qualitative methodology is first detailed, incorporating methods that harness collaboratively derived views and individual narratives (e.g., focus groups; consultation forums; in-depth interviews). Critical reflections on research implementation and specific considerations relevant to these populations are presented (e.g., trust building; one-to-one facilitation), with lessons then drawn for the design of multistakeholder participatory approaches with marginalized older populations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1139-1152
Number of pages14
JournalQualitative Health Research
Volume32
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2022

Keywords

  • life-course experiences
  • marginalized groups
  • older adults
  • participatory research
  • positive health and ageing

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Life-Course Marginalities of Positive Health and Aging: A Participatory Approach Integrating the Lived Experiences of Older Irish Travelers and Older Homeless Adults in Multistakeholder Research Processes'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this