‘It pushed me back into the human race’: evaluative findings from a community Christmas event

Abstract

Many older people in Britain spend Christmas day alone. The Christmas period may be especially difficult for older people who are socially isolated, living with dementia or who have physical impairments, and may feel particularly marginalised at this time of year. This paper draws on evaluative research findings from a community Christmas event held in December 2014 at the University of Salford for older people and their carers who would be on their own on Christmas day. A multi‐method approach was employed, seven guests took part in semi‐structured interviews to explore their experiences and perceptions of the event, seven staff and student volunteers participated in a group interview to explore and discuss their participation in the event. Data collection took place during April and May 2015. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis. Three overarching themes were identified from the interviews: ‘reasons for participants attending the event’, ‘a different Christmas day: the impact on guests and volunteers’, and ‘learning, planning and moving forwards’. The findings illustrate that a range of people participated in the Christmas day event for a variety of reasons. The event itself had a positive impact, including the shared experience of social belonging, for all involved. There are tangible longer term benefits as a result of the event, such as ongoing contact between participants and the development of supportive networks in the local community.

The experiences of older adult members of a combined lunch club and assisted shopping group and the perceived value in their occupational lives: A qualitative study

“…For most participants, the group had become a meaningful occupation in their lives 11 . Particularly valued was the social belonging 15 that membership in the group offered, yet only half of the participants reported loneliness as a primary factor influencing their engagement, which further supports Thomas and Emond 11 in that social engagement is rarely a sole benefit of engaging in community groups. The group offered a purpose and routine to participants, who often reported the group as something to look forward to and a welcome break from the monotony of daily life.…”

“…17 Provisions such as transport, a carefully considered environment and the availability of support allowed participants to overcome some of the challenges of ageing and promoted independence. The service also made a perceived lasting impact on participants, improving confidence and promoting engagement in further occupations, 15 presenting the potential for the combined service to further promote living well in later life. Attempts were made to understand the experiences of less understood groups.…”

“…24 The interview schedule focused on key areas of occupational engagement that were less understood from the existing literature, including motivation, 10 , 11 , 13 meaning derived from experiences 7 and the impact on the wider occupational lives of older adults. 11 , 15 Interviews were held at the venue of the group for the convenience of the participants 11 and to ensure that interviews occurred as close to the event as possible to minimize inaccurate recollections. 25 Interviews were audio recorded to ensure accuracy of transcripts 26 and transcribed verbatim to facilitate understanding when interpreting data.…”

“…Data was collected between January and March 2020 (before the Covid‐19 pandemic and associated restrictions) using individual semistructured interviews, chosen for their ability to provide subjective accounts of information 22 and their suitability for exploring lived experience 24 . The interview schedule focused on key areas of occupational engagement that were less understood from the existing literature, including motivation, 10,11,13 meaning derived from experiences 7 and the impact on the wider occupational lives of older adults 11,15 . Interviews were held at the venue of the group for the convenience of the participants 11 and to ensure that interviews occurred as close to the event as possible to minimize inaccurate recollections 25 .…”

“…This trend has been shown to be particularly true of men (Nurmi et al 13 , Collins et al 14 ), which could support understanding of why fewer men access these types of services than women. 10 However, Collins et al 15 found that groups with a social focus can improve confidence and promote engagement in other occupations, suggesting that productive and social engagement need not be mutually exclusive. One preference for productive engagement is shopping as it is a valued occupation in the lives of many older adults and an often‐unavoidable part of daily life (Erikkson and colleagues).…”