Introduction

Summary

The way people perceive their lives is of vital importance, not only as a means of exploring the aging process but also as a guideline for social policy and the delivery of care in an aging society … an understanding of the phenomenon of growing older can only be fully shaped through an investigation of personal meanings of aging, which are expressed in metaphors, images and life stories. (Ruth and Kenyon, 1996, p 2)

The central aim of this book is to learn from the ways in which older people manage the experience of ageing. An overview of research projects commissioned by older people as part of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's Older People’s Research Programme between 2000-04 highlighted the need for policy and practice to start with an understanding of older people's lives, in all their richness and diversity, and then, based on that understanding, to consider how services can support older people to live the lives they choose (Older People's Steering Group, 2004). This reflects the ethos of this book, which aims to develop understanding of older people's lives, as illuminated by research based on their experiences and perceptions, and to consider what this means for the development of services and strategies to support their well-being.

As argued by Ruth and Kenyon (1996), understanding of the process of managing ageing can only be acquired through uncovering the experiences of older people and the meanings they give to these experiences. Central to this book are the experiences and perspectives of 12 older people who participated in a three-year research study (2000 to 2003). The study explored how the older people managed difficulties for which they had been refused help by social services on the grounds that their needs did not meet eligibility criteria. In order to keep the research anchored as closely as possible to older people's experiences, the research used approaches that sought to promote the active involvement of older people as research participants. Although the older participants have not been directly involved in writing the book, it is hoped that its content and messages are firmly rooted in their understandings and experiences. Direct quotations from their interviews feature prominently in an effort to project their own voices as far as possible.