Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DEXSAGE (Daily Experiences of Successful Ageing)
Reporting period: 2019-08-01 to 2021-07-31
Population ageing has been identified by the European Commission as one of the major social and political challenges of the 21st century. Older adults constitute an increasing share of developed societies. Their active engagement in life is important for all social parties: individuals, their families, local communities, economic markets, and social institutions. Rewarding daily activities may greatly increase their wellbeing and promote active engagement in life in a variety of forms.
This study looked at older adults’ everyday experiences and at how these experiences are subjectively evaluated by them. Specifically, it is investigated how daily activities affect individuals’ momentary wellbeing, including stress and enjoyment, and whether they influence the overall satisfaction with life. The study addressed three broad research questions: 1) how older adults organize their days, 2) how particular daily events are experienced by them, and 3) how objective events and their subjective evaluation are linked with individual’s sociodemographic characteristics and their subjective wellbeing or satisfaction with life in general.
The action concluded with four scientific publications submitted to peer-reviewed journals, three conference presentations, an information brochure for older adults in three language versions, several articles in the media, and a brief talk on the topic of the action in a popular TV programme. The project fond that, among others, the intensity, location, and emotional assessment of daily activities influence the in-situ wellbeing, and, in turn, the in-situ wellbeing is associated with individuals' satisfaction with life.
This study looked at older adults’ everyday experiences and at how these experiences are subjectively evaluated by them. Specifically, it is investigated how daily activities affect individuals’ momentary wellbeing, including stress and enjoyment, and whether they influence the overall satisfaction with life. The study addressed three broad research questions: 1) how older adults organize their days, 2) how particular daily events are experienced by them, and 3) how objective events and their subjective evaluation are linked with individual’s sociodemographic characteristics and their subjective wellbeing or satisfaction with life in general.
The action concluded with four scientific publications submitted to peer-reviewed journals, three conference presentations, an information brochure for older adults in three language versions, several articles in the media, and a brief talk on the topic of the action in a popular TV programme. The project fond that, among others, the intensity, location, and emotional assessment of daily activities influence the in-situ wellbeing, and, in turn, the in-situ wellbeing is associated with individuals' satisfaction with life.
The study found that engaging in enjoyable activities was associated with greater satisfaction with life net of other sociodemographic characteristics. The ability to prioritize certain activities over others – or attach higher importance to some activities may also boost wellbeing. The study did not find a negative impact of average stress on satisfaction with life, which means that older individuals who experience higher daily levels of stress do not report lower life satisfaction. As it seems, enjoying what you do may have more benefit for you than avoiding stresses.
On the activity level, what contributed to greater activity enjoyment was the type of activity, but also presence of others and the activity location. The most enjoyable activities were those somehow related to the sense of connectedness. Older adults derived most joy from social life, spiritual activities and childcare. Almost equally as enjoyable were walks – in this case in particular the exposure to natural environments brought extra comfort and lowered stress.
This study has also undermined some common misconceptions. For example, one might think that older adults may need to avoid effort and engage in activities that they find easy to do. The results of the project give a more nuanced picture. A mix of high-effort and low-effort activities is likely to contribute to the greater overall wellbeing. High effort activities were any activities that a respondent found demanding. The nature of activity did not matter – it could have been a manual task, exercise or intellectual work. Importantly, it gave respondents much positive reinforcement and strengthened the sense of agency and self- mastery. Older adults need some down time too – perhaps a little more than younger people. For this reason unchallenging low-effort activities should also be present in everyday time use patterns. The most common example of such an activity is watching TV.
This study provided also an overview of lifestyle differentiation at an older age. It has identified distinctive behavioural classes which were associated with both individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and their subjectively measures detailed dimensions of health: emotional response and energy levels. These results point to the consistency between what older adult do and how they evaluate their multidimensional health. It merits further scientific investigation because, if that is the case, it opens up multiple possibilities for effective interventions such as social prescribing.
The knowledge generated by the project is available through scientific publications and additional materials. Thus far two papers have been accepted and/or published; other papers are currently under peer review in academic journals. In addition to that brief information brochures have been prepared in three language versions. The brochures include easy to read information and recommendations for older adults and/or their carers. All materials are available for download via project website www.dexsage.eu. The project results will also be presented to specialized audience during the 14th European Public Health Conference in November 2021. Dissemination to the general audience has been done via press articles and interviews in the television.
On the activity level, what contributed to greater activity enjoyment was the type of activity, but also presence of others and the activity location. The most enjoyable activities were those somehow related to the sense of connectedness. Older adults derived most joy from social life, spiritual activities and childcare. Almost equally as enjoyable were walks – in this case in particular the exposure to natural environments brought extra comfort and lowered stress.
This study has also undermined some common misconceptions. For example, one might think that older adults may need to avoid effort and engage in activities that they find easy to do. The results of the project give a more nuanced picture. A mix of high-effort and low-effort activities is likely to contribute to the greater overall wellbeing. High effort activities were any activities that a respondent found demanding. The nature of activity did not matter – it could have been a manual task, exercise or intellectual work. Importantly, it gave respondents much positive reinforcement and strengthened the sense of agency and self- mastery. Older adults need some down time too – perhaps a little more than younger people. For this reason unchallenging low-effort activities should also be present in everyday time use patterns. The most common example of such an activity is watching TV.
This study provided also an overview of lifestyle differentiation at an older age. It has identified distinctive behavioural classes which were associated with both individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and their subjectively measures detailed dimensions of health: emotional response and energy levels. These results point to the consistency between what older adult do and how they evaluate their multidimensional health. It merits further scientific investigation because, if that is the case, it opens up multiple possibilities for effective interventions such as social prescribing.
The knowledge generated by the project is available through scientific publications and additional materials. Thus far two papers have been accepted and/or published; other papers are currently under peer review in academic journals. In addition to that brief information brochures have been prepared in three language versions. The brochures include easy to read information and recommendations for older adults and/or their carers. All materials are available for download via project website www.dexsage.eu. The project results will also be presented to specialized audience during the 14th European Public Health Conference in November 2021. Dissemination to the general audience has been done via press articles and interviews in the television.
This project has been innovative on two levels: methodological and substantial. As regards the methodological dimension, it used complex study design to investigate different aspects of daily experiences. The scientific publications using the data generated in the project have employed multilevel mixed effects models – linear and logistic (multinomial logistic regression) as well as latent class analysis using generalized structural equation modelling. The analyses have demonstrated these models to be highly relevant and useful in analysing complex datasets with repeated measures (observations were nested in individuals). They also show that statistical tools typically employed in other fields are well-suited for analysing time use data such as experience sampling data.
As regards substantive innovations, the project produced new findings that have very practical implications. It showed the clear and feasible link between objectively measured lifestyles and subjectively assessed detailed dimensions of individuals’ health. It also pointed to several ways in which daily activities might influence the overall subjective wellbeing, including the impact of particular activities, presence of others, location, but also how important, enjoyable or difficult those activities are. It seems that certain combinations of certain activities and particular time-use practices, such as balancing how and low-effort activities or prioritizing enjoyable activities over other, may be beneficial to older adults’ wellbeing. This opens up multiple opportunities for low-cost micro-level interventions that could improve the quality of life of those individuals.
The socioeconomic impact of the project is reflected in the interest that was evoked by the articles published in the popular media. It seems that older adults actively seek information on how to make the most out of their lives and the project provides very practical guidelines and thus satisfies these demands. Likewise, many of our respondents declared they want to learn about the findings of the study as that would be useful for them. The findings of the project offer ideas to older adults but also give insights for the policy makers. Thus far it is too early to see the project's impact on relevant policies but in this regard the substantial interest in the study is reflected in the fact that all of the project presentations submitted for the 14th European Public Health Conference were accepted for the event.
As regards substantive innovations, the project produced new findings that have very practical implications. It showed the clear and feasible link between objectively measured lifestyles and subjectively assessed detailed dimensions of individuals’ health. It also pointed to several ways in which daily activities might influence the overall subjective wellbeing, including the impact of particular activities, presence of others, location, but also how important, enjoyable or difficult those activities are. It seems that certain combinations of certain activities and particular time-use practices, such as balancing how and low-effort activities or prioritizing enjoyable activities over other, may be beneficial to older adults’ wellbeing. This opens up multiple opportunities for low-cost micro-level interventions that could improve the quality of life of those individuals.
The socioeconomic impact of the project is reflected in the interest that was evoked by the articles published in the popular media. It seems that older adults actively seek information on how to make the most out of their lives and the project provides very practical guidelines and thus satisfies these demands. Likewise, many of our respondents declared they want to learn about the findings of the study as that would be useful for them. The findings of the project offer ideas to older adults but also give insights for the policy makers. Thus far it is too early to see the project's impact on relevant policies but in this regard the substantial interest in the study is reflected in the fact that all of the project presentations submitted for the 14th European Public Health Conference were accepted for the event.