Older people’s involvement in healthcare education: views and experiences of older experts by experience

Purpose: “Experts by experience' (EBE) involvement in professional health-care education programmes contributes to developing students” caring skills by supporting students’ understanding of the lived experience and reality of service-users’ situations. Also, involvement in health-care education is a beneficial experience for EBEs themselves. This study aims to explore specifically older people’s experiences and perceptions of their involvement of EBE in gerontological education to generate insight into their understanding of this experience. Design/methodology/approach: In this qualitative study, EBEs contributing to delivery of health-care professional education programmes at a UK university took part in focus groups (n = 14) to discuss their views and experiences of involvement in EBE teaching. Data were analysed using open coding. Findings: Four themes emerged from the data, suggesting that older EBEs’ involvement in education may be beneficial for their well-being. The four themes were “contributing to improved care”, “having a purpose”, “being included” and “feeling appreciated”. Practical implications: Findings support the requirement for nurse educators to develop EBE programmes that involve older people as not only a teaching strategy for students but also a method of promoting the health and well-being of the older EBEs. Originality/value: There is limited research regarding specifically older EBEs’ experiences of involvement in gerontological education. This is an important area of study because involvement in education may constitute a means of engaging in social, community and voluntary activities for older people, which recent UK health policies advocate as methods of promoting and facilitating healthy ageing.