Design for Healthy Ageing

This Research & Knowledge Exchange Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research interest under the heading of: Design for Healthy Ageing

We welcome all research degree applications aligned with and in response to this brief.

By 2030, 1 in 6 people will be 60 years of age or older, increasing to 1 in 5 by 2050 (WHO 2020). At least 142 million older people worldwide are unable to meet their basic needs, such as dress themselves, get and take their own medication or manage their own money, bills or finances (WHO 2020). In 2021, the United Nations launched the 'Decade of Healthy Ageing' plan; a catalyst to improve the lives of older people, their families and their communities by 2030. As we enter the second half of this decade, there is still much to be done to address critical issues such as ageism, health inequalities and social isolation.  

The government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England (Gov.uk 2025) sets out three areas for transition where the contexts of healthy ageing can be explored: hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention. This doctoral brief invites you to investigate opportunities for design to support healthy ageing across one of these three domains. For example, a practice-based project could explore methodologies to understand the needs of older people, engaging participatory research methods to articulate and shape design responses. Similarly, a project could explore the development and application of technologies that can support healthy ageing. The brief provides a broad territory for investigation so that candidates can align their own research interests and design experience.

Projects deriving from this brief are expected to sit within the Research & Knowledge Exchange strategy and the following department.

All successful research degree project proposals must emphasise a clear alignment between the project idea and our Research & Knowledge Exchange strategy.