Cost Action 22167
About Us
Participatory Approaches with Older Adults
Background
PAAR-Net is an EU-funded COST Action and stands for CA22167: Participatory Approaches with Older Adults. PAAR-Net focuses on reshaping ways to involve older adults in scientific research, policymaking, and practice. PAAR-Net aims to foster inclusive social innovation, by tapping into the knowledge and experiences of older adults, particularly those at risk of social exclusion, to address the complex challenges of ageing societies. As a networking framework, it brings together academics and old and young innovators both from wider Europe and elsewhere in the world.
PAAR-Net advocates participatory approaches, which emphasize collaboration between experts-by-training, typically academics, and experts-by-experience, older adults aged 65 and above. It actively endeavors to engage older adults who are at the margins of society, including those with migrant, refugee, and minority backgrounds as well as those with lower socio-economic status, health problems, and access problems. The participatory methods seek to move beyond traditional research models by actively involving older adults in all stages of the research process, from identifying research goals to the dissemination and valorization of research findings.
The Need for Change:
There are significant gaps in how older adults are included in research efforts. Many research initiatives tend to limit older adults’ involvement in data collection. These initiatives overlook their potential contributions to shaping research questions and interpreting the data and results. This oversight perpetuates age stereotypes and does not adequately challenge ageism. It also fails to harness the wealth of knowledge older adults possess.
Furthermore, even though policy and practice try to involve older adults in their processes, they are far from ensuring meaningful involvement, especially for those who are at risk of social exclusion. In this respect, they need new approaches and methodologies. Moreover, there are linkage gaps between research, policy, and practice.
Why It Matters:
By advocating participatory approaches, PAAR-Net aims to create more inclusive, fair, and sustainable societies. Involving older adults in research, policy development, and practice ensures that solutions are better suited to their needs, experiences, and aspirations. This not only leads to more effective policies but also promotes social justice and equity for older adults across diverse contexts and jurisdictions.
PAAR-Net represents a forward-thinking initiative that seeks to empower older adults, challenge ageism, and drive positive change in ageing societies. Through collaboration and innovation, PAAR-Net aims to pave the way for a more inclusive future for older adults worldwide.
Objectives
- Raising awareness concerning the impact and value of co-creation in research, policy, and practice with older adults, across diverse contexts and jurisdictions.
- Synthesizing the existing knowledge on participatory approaches with deprived vulnerable or marginalized older adults.
- Developing practical conceptual, theoretical, and methodological frameworks for participatory research with older adults and policy/practice settings.
- Fostering knowledge exchange between research and practice.
- Developing a "seal of quality" for participatory approaches with older adults, ensuring co-creation excellence.
- Supporting training of young researchers in participatory approaches
- Establishing an interdisciplinary collaboration bridging research-policy-practice gaps in participatory aging research with a gender-balanced perspective.
- Enhancing cross-European research capacity, involving older adults as co-researchers with a gender-balanced participation.