Effects of social leisure engagement on the psychological, cognitive, and physical wellbeing of older adults

This research aims to explore the impact of social leisure engagement (activities that include or facilitate social interaction) on older adults' psychological, cognitive, and physical wellbeing, and to identify important ways to increase engagement. In the UK, one-fourth of the population is aged 55 or above. Ageing poses challenges to one's everyday life due to increased risk of depression, cognitive decline, and deteriorating health, which often interplay with reduced social leisure engagement.

Social leisure engagement is considered a modifiable behaviour that supports healthy ageing, which contains active ingredients (components that make up an activity) that can activate various mechanisms to connect social leisure engagement with wellbeing improvements.

However, it remains to be tested empirically (a) if social leisure engagement has long-term impacts on older adults' wellbeing, (b) if the outcomes vary depending on the active ingredients involved in the activity, (c) what the potential mediators are, (d) if the association varies by population subgroups, and (e) what the individual, socio-cultural and environmental factors are that facilitate engagement amongst older adults.

To answer these questions, this project will use quantitative methods to analyse two British longitudinal datasets, the National Child Development Study and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, and run 10 online qualitative focus groups with participants aged 55 and above.

We will explore three broad social and leisure activity categories that share similar active ingredients within each category:

>Workshop-based activities which involve group learning, formal structure and intellectual stimulation, e.g., arts/music groups, evening classes

>Community-based activities which involve affiliation, collaboration and community awareness, e.g., social clubs, volunteering, sports groups

>Asset-based activities which involve sensory and cognitive stimuli and aesthetic engagement, e.g., cinema, museum, the theatre, green space For wellbeing outcomes, we will focus on: >Psychological wellbeing, e.g., loneliness, depression, life satisfaction >Cognitive wellbeing, e.g., memory, executive functioning, numeracy, and literacy skills

>Physical wellbeing, e.g., falls/fractures, pain, energy/fatigue

This research will benefit stakeholders within and beyond the academic community. For health service providers, this project will help inform the development of social prescribing schemes relating to the social leisure engagement. For policymakers, the project will help inform how they can make use of existing cultural, creative, and nature environment assets to support wellbeing as people age, and highlight where future funding will have the greatest impact.

For cultural and community organisations, this project will provide insight into how activities can be developed to be more inclusive and to reach new audiences. For older people, this project will help to understand the factors that influence their own engagement and how and why they may want to increase their engagement to support healthy ageing.

To successfully engage with these audiences, this project will be overseen by a cross-sector advisory board and will incorporate a series of impact and public engagement activities. These include peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, teaching materials, summary reports for policy and practice, blogs and briefings, a webinar, a research blog for media outlets, and an international knowledge exchange roundtable.

By identifying the long-term impact of social leisure engagement on wellbeing and mapping out the important enablers of engagement, this project has the potential to increase engagement rates in social leisure activities. It can also be used as evidence when formulating and developing schemes to integrate social leisure interventions into public health services and strategies that aim to support healthy ageing.