Turning the Co-Production Corner: Methodological Reflections from an Action Research Project to Promote LGBT Inclusion in Care Homes for Older People.

Paul Willis,Barbara Billings,Trish Hafford-Letchfield,Paul Simpson,Kathryn Almack,Naresh Mall

doi:10.3390/ijerph15040695

Abstract

Background: Older lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) residents are often invisible in long-term care settings. This article presents findings from a community-based action research project, which attempted to address this invisibility through co-produced research with LGBT community members. Particular Question: What conditions enable co-produced research to emerge in long-term residential care settings for older people? Aims of Project: To analyse outcomes and challenges of action-oriented, co-produced research in the given context. In particular, we explore how co-production as a collaborative approach to action-orientated research can emerge during the research/fieldwork process; and reflect critically on the ethics and effectiveness of this approach in advancing inclusion in context. Methods: The project was implemented across six residential care homes in England. Reflections are based on qualitative evaluation data gathered pre- and post-project, which includes 37 interviews with care home staff, managers and community advisors (two of whom are co-authors). Results and Conclusions: We discuss how the co-production turn emerged during research and evaluate how the politics of this approach helped advance inclusion—itself crucial to well-being. We argue for the value of co-produced research in instigating organizational change in older people’s care environments and of non-didactic storytelling in LGBT awareness-raising amongst staff.

Highlights

The social inclusion of diverse groups of older people in long-term care settings is a prominent topic on the current health and social care agenda, as evident in current UK policy pushes to implement equality standards into social care practice [1]
Our overarching question is: ‘What conditions enable co-produced research to emerge in long-term residential care settings for older people?’ We conclude that there are various enabling conditions that supported what we describe as a “co-production turn” and examine what conditions facilitated this change in direction
Various points of learning arose from the risks and opportunities that evolved during the research

Summary

Introduction

The social inclusion of diverse groups of older people in long-term care settings is a prominent topic on the current health and social care agenda, as evident in current UK policy pushes to implement equality standards into social care practice [1]. This is an important area to address given that the number of older people requiring care and support in later life is predicted to rise and demands for. Particular Question: What conditions enable co-produced research to emerge in long-term residential care settings for older people? We argue for the value of co-produced research in instigating organizational change in older people’s care environments and of non-didactic storytelling in LGBT awareness-raising amongst staff

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion