Older men's mental health and emotional wellbeing: community groups
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Older men's mental health and emotional wellbeing: Use of community support groups.
IRAS ID
310618
Contact name
Alexandra Y Vickery
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bristol
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
This project will explore the role and use of community support groups for supporting older men with their mental health and wellbeing. This will include examining the benefits of such community support groups as well as other forms of informal and formal support that older men might access for help with mental health difficulties.
Older men may be less likely to seek professional help for mental health difficulties because of fear of weakness and embarrassment, and their experience of mental distress may specifically impact their social connections and social life. Attending a support group within the local community that is designed to support attendees’ mental wellbeing might have certain benefits to older men who may struggle with aspects of help seeking due to male identity, ageing and isolation. This is particularly important in a time of increased isolation and mental distress due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The study has two elements: secondary statistical analysis of a large dataset that already exists on mental health problems and service use, which will explore if there are any links between older men’s social characteristics and circumstances (for example, age, socio-economic status, ethnicity, sexuality) and the use of community support groups, and in-depth qualitative research that will gather older men’s and support group facilitators’ views and experiences using interviews.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
22/IEC08/0005
Date of REC Opinion
7 Apr 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion