My name is Dr Ágnes Szabó and I am a senior lecturer in the School of Health at Victoria University of Wellington. My research focuses on the ageing experiences of immigrant communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.
I have recently obtained funding from The Royal Society–Te Apārangi to explore what it means to age well for migrant communities and how they achieve it over the course of their lives.
I am contacting you to see if I could recruit participants for our project with the help of Grey Power.
Just a little bit of background to the research:
I am interested to explore what it means to age well for older adults from different cultural communities. I am looking for adults who are 65 years old or older, immigrated to Aotearoa New Zealand as a young adult (in their 20s and 30s) from mainland China, India, Samoa, Sri Lanka, South Africa and the UK to take part in a focus group discussion. During this discussion, they will be asked to share their views on what it means to age well and their opinions on what hinders or promotes living a good life in Aotearoa New Zealand. The focus group discussion will take approximately 1 hour, and participants receive a $30 grocery store voucher in exchange.
Why is this research important?
The findings of the study will help us shape policy making in New Zealand. We want to ensure that our policies are designed to support the quality of life and ageing experiences of all older people.
How can your organization help us?
I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the most appropriate methods for working with your organization, but based on my previous experience with other organizations, I think it might look something like this. You could contact your members via e-mail with an advertisement (written by us) for the research, including a description of the project and my contact details. If you have a notice board, I could put flyers up or if you have any programmes often visited by older adults, I would welcome the opportunity to visit with my research assistants in person and introduce the study. Those who are interested and potentially willing to participate in the study could contact me to learn more about the research, and if they are prepared to participate, I would set up a time for the discussion.
This can be a great way to engage older adults in migrant communities and to ensure their voice is heard and represented.
What can we offer to your organization?
After the data are collected and analysed, we will summarize the results and share it with the participants. I would also be happy to send an anonymized summary of the main research findings to your organization directly if you would like this or visit your organization and present the research to your team and members. It can provide some insights into the challenges experienced by older migrants and this could inform the development of programs or activities that support the health and wellbeing of older members of migrant communities.
I would welcome the opportunity to meet and discuss this with you in greater detail and/or to answer any additional questions you have. I look forward to hearing from you.
I hope you will consider this request.
Sincerely,
Ágnes
Dr Ágnes Szabó (she/her)
Rutherford Discovery Fellow
Senior Lecturer in Health | Pūkenga Matua
School of Health | Te Kura Tātai Hauora
Faculty of Health | Te Wāhanga Tātai Hauora
Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington