Older people

Living it Up describes itself as an online self-management hub, which aims to empower people to improve their health and wellbeing. Aimed at the over 50s, the resource is packed full of ideas and activities and is useful for those with long-term health conditions, those who provide care and anyone who wants to improve their health, wellbeing and quality of life. It is driven by a collaborative community approach.

Since July 2013, Iriss's Innovation and Improvement team has been leading a project to design a care pathway to support the transition from hospital to home for older people.

The first stage of this project (July 2013-April 2014) involved gathering reflections from practitioners based nationally in Scotland on what the pathway looks like for them and the associated problems. This information was collated into a visual pathway map.

Fit for the Future is a partnership project of Iriss and Scottish Care dedicated to inspiring better outcomes for older people by working with providers from the independent sector. The project worked with care homes and care at home providers in four areas - Argyll and Bute, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire and West Lothian - to support innovation and service redesign. Key areas such as outcomes, care in times of transition, community links and compassion were explored.

PROP2 has been developed by IRISS and CRFR at the University of Edinburgh, and builds on learning from the previous Practitioner Research: Older People (PROP) project.

My Home Life (MHL) was originally a project set up in 2006 by the National Care Forum (an organisation that represents not-for-profit care homes) and Help the Aged. It was established to promote quality of life for those living, dying, visiting and working in care homes for older people through relationship-centred and evidence based practice. MHL has evolved into a collaborative movement of people across the UK.

We have published a set of cards that have been designed for those who work with or support older people. The cards have been produced as part of Plan P, an Iriss project focusing on preventing social isolation and loneliness amongst older people.

Our Innovation and Improvement team is leading a 20-month project to redesign the pathway from hospital to home for older people across Scotland. We're working with health and social care practitioners, older people, their families and informal carers to identify issues and improve care pathways from hospital to home and enable a more positive experience for all.

The first outputs of the project, the hopital to home pathway map, is now available online at: Hospital to Home.