How do we best help older people to deal with difficult life changes?

If we live long enough, most of us will have to go through some life transitions that can be difficult to deal with.

A new research project will delve into three of them: withdrawal from the labour market, the loss of a partner or friends, and the onset of dementia.

»On the one hand, the value of society is to ensure a high quality of life for the elderly, despite the fact that they are exposed to these life changes. And on the other hand, it will be good for the economy. Because you want to keep more people in the labour market for a longer period of time, and therefore in the future it will be even more important to find some ways to make the phase before retirement gentler,« says Søren Harnow Klausen, Professor at the Department of Design, Media and Educational Sciences at the University of Southern Denmark, and continues:

»At the same time, poor mental health often goes hand in hand with poor physical health. So, it will be possible to reduce health costs in society if we ensure a high quality of life for the elderly.«

Important to see the changes as longer processes

All three life changes included in the project can be regarded as events that occur suddenly. However, it is an important point in the project that this is not always the case.

»It is important that life changes are not just seen as bombs in the elderly person's life, but as processes that unfold over time,« Søren Harnow Klausen elaborates.

As retirement approaches, retirement will often take place gradually, for example with reduced working hours or changed work tasks.

In the event of the death of a partner or among friends who are referred to in the project as significant others, for example, a course of illness may precede and a period of grief will follow. 

Finally, dementia will also be an extended process. Perhaps the elderly person knows that there has been dementia in the family, and then the process can already begin with a premonition that the disease can affect you.

Want to find the good examples among the elderly

A cornerstone of the research is the fact that some older people are better at dealing with life changes than others. Therefore, the focus will be on identifying the individuals among older people who have proven to be good at handling changes so that others can learn from them.

»The elderly who are really good at dealing with difficult life changes do so by changing themselves. They meet change with change or development. This is interesting in relation to the common way of looking at old age, also in a good part of research, where there is a tendency to understand old age more as a settlement than as development,« Søren Harnow Klausen emphasises, mentioning tools such as redecorating one's home or expanding or gaining a new social circle as ways older people use to deal with life changes. It can also be the ability to regulate and use emotions.

The research project, which will run for four years, will take place with the participation of elderly people and professionals who work with the elderly, for example dementia coordinators, from the municipalities of Guldborgsund, Odense and Vejle.

Here, the research group will try to find older people who are good at handling the blows of life. Dementia in particular poses challenges in relation to recruitment.

»We will talk to people who either live with a fear of the risk of dementia or perhaps have already been diagnosed with some form of dementia, but where the dementia is still in an early and very mild stage,« explains Søren Harnow Klausen.

In China, they design neighbourhoods for communities across ages

When older people need more joy in life, research suggests that it can benefit the elderly to socialise with younger generations. In psychological terms, this is called generativity.

Therefore, Kong Gauers Gård in Vejle Municipality will play a special role in the project. Here, a care centre for the elderly and a daycare centre for children are gathered in one place. So here the researchers will specifically look for mutual benefits for the two age groups.

Finally, there will be a close collaboration with Chinese researchers, and a Chinese guest researcher will travel to Denmark to become part of the project group.

»In China, I have seen entire districts that are designed to be a community across age groups. They build the city according to that and not the other way around, as we do in Denmark. So, it is obvious to see if we can learn something from it,« Søren Harnow Klausen describes.

All in all, the hope is that the project can produce as concrete results as possible.

»The wish scenario is that we find some models for good ways to handle life transitions. Models that can then be translated into even more concrete guidelines and applied to different areas where you work with the elderly. For example, as tips on best practice for dementia coordinators or others who talk professionally to older people in difficult situations,« concludes Søren Harnow Klausen.