Healthy Ageing Research Group

The Healthy Ageing Research Group (HARG) at The University of Manchester is a multidisciplinary group conducting research that aims to promote healthy and active ageing.

Our work covers a broad range of topics and themes and includes people from mid (55+) through to later life. We use many different approaches to help us understand the experiences of older people living in our communities and to promote healthy and active ageing. This includes research methods such as big data analysis, interviews and focus groups, mixed approaches to develop and evaluate new interventions, and evidence synthesis approaches to bring together findings from existing research.

Our emphasis is on healthy and active ageing to enable and support active participation in communities. We proactively ensure our work has direct relevance to health and social care policy and practice, for older adults at local, national, and international levels, through regular collaboration with government and arms-length bodies (e.g., National Health Service, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Greater Manchester Combined Authority).

We continuously engage and collaborate with those with lived and living experience to enhance our understanding and research, and to develop research capacity in this crucial area. This includes the public, patients and service users, community organisations, and those working within the health and social care landscape.