Healthy ageing refers to the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age (WHO, 2020). It encompasses physical and cognitive health, mental wellbeing and social engagement with the goal of enhancing a healthier lifespan.
The Healthy Ageing Research Group (HARG) at The University of Manchester conducts research that aims to:
- promote health, resilience and wellbeing to enable and support active participation in communities;
- enhance the understanding, prevention and management of age-related challenges;
- develop novel, person-centred interventions to assist older adults to maintain independence and quality of life;
- promote equity, particularly by investigating determinants of access and uptake to services and treatments related to ageing.
Our members include researchers from a wide variety of academic disciplines and professions. HARG members lead and participate in the Healthy Ageing Theme for the Greater Manchester Applied Research Collaboration and the NIHR Healthy Ageing Policy Research Unit. This enables our research to impact health and social care practice and policy at a local, national and international level.
Our work covers a broad range of themes and includes people from mid-life (55+) through to later life.
On this page:
About us
We use interdisciplinary approaches to generate and identify the best available evidence.
We continuously engage, involve and collaborate with those with lived experience to enhance our understanding, research impact, and to develop research capacity in this crucial area. This includes public, patients and service users, community organisations, and those working within the health and social care landscape.
Our work is supported by major funding bodies, including the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Wellcome Trust, Innovate UK, the Dunhill Medical Trust, and public and charitable organisations.
Research themes
Our research themes include:
- Physical activity and exercise
- Falls, concerns about falling and falls prevention
- Brain health, dementia and delirium
- Frailty and rehabilitation
- Nutrition and diet
- Digital interventions and technologies
- Inequalities in mid to later life
- Inclusion and engagement
PhD opportunities
We welcome enquiries from prospective postgraduate researchers who would like to conduct a PhD in healthy ageing at The University of Manchester.
Resources
Our projects have generated training materials, reports and other resources relevant to healthy ageing.
View resources in the following research areas:
Partners
We work in collaboration with several organisations.
- Greater Manchester Ageing Hub
- Dementia United
- The Care Lab
- Greater Manchester Older People’s Network
- NIHR Older People and Frailty/Healthy Ageing Policy Research Unit
Contact us
If you would like to find out more about our research group, or if you would like to join us, please get in touch.
Prof Emma Stanmore
Email: emma.stanmore@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Alex Hall
Email: alex.hall@manchester.ac.uk
Contact Us
+44 (0) 161 306 6000
