Study participants required
World Tea house
World Teahouse: Supporting older adults' participation in an age-friendly Auckland
You can participate in this research. The HOPE Foundation for Research on Ageing supports this current research lead by HOPE Scholar, Xi (Cassie) Wang (Auckland University of Technology).
Are you a Chinese older adult (55+ years)? then read on ...
Why This Research Matters
How can Auckland become a more age-friendly, inclusive and responsive city for culturally diverse older communities? This study aims to understand how older Chinese migrants navigate health, wellbeing, and everyday life in an increasingly digital city. Their experiences are often overlooked in smart city and digital health planning, and the research hopes to support more inclusive and age-friendly approaches to future urban and health system design.
The research focuses on older adults’ lived experiences, community participation, service access, digital inclusion, and ideas for future urban wellbeing.
What to expect:
Small 'tea and chat' style workshops (Mandarin speaking) with fun activities where you can share ideas to shape an age-friendly Auckland.
Link to flyer (English and Chinese)
Also inviting community stakeholders who have experience with older adults in Chinese or migrant communities - click here
World Tea house (community stakeholders)
World Teahouse: Supporting older adults' participation in an age-friendly Auckland
You can participate in this research. The HOPE Foundation for Research on Ageing supports this current research lead by HOPE Scholar, Xi (Cassie) Wang (Auckland University of Technology).
Do you have experience with older adults from Chinese or migrant communities? then read on ...
Who we are inviting
We are inviting a small number of community stakeholders who have relevant experience with older adults, Chinese or migrant communities, healthy ageing, age-friendly Auckland, community
participation, local services, transport, libraries, health, planning, advocacy, or local government.
How can Auckland become a more age-friendly, inclusive and responsive city for culturally diverse older communities? This study aims to understand how older Chinese migrants navigate health, wellbeing, and everyday life in an increasingly digital city. Their experiences are often overlooked in smart city and digital health planning, and the research hopes to support more inclusive and age-friendly approaches to future urban and health system design.
The research focuses on older adults’ lived experiences, community participation, service access, digital inclusion, and ideas for future urban wellbeing.
What to expect:
Workshops are expected to take place at AUT North Campus between September and early October 2026,
Link to flyer English / Mandarin
Also inviting older Chinese adults (55+ years) - click here
Swallowing
Can imagining a swallow activate the brain - just like actual swallowing?
You can participate in this research. The HOPE Foundation for Research on Ageing supports this current research lead by HOPE Scholar, Melissa Phillips (University of Canterbury).
Are you over 18? then read on ...
Why This Research Matters
Swallowing difficulties are common after stroke and neurological disease and can seriously impact health and quality of life.
Research shows that imagining movements can activate the brain in similar ways to physical movement — a technique used by athletes for over a century and increasingly studied in rehabilitation.
Imagined swallowing has not been studied enough
Your participation will help fill a critical evidence gap and support the development of safe, accessible, low‑risk rehabilitation approaches that could one day be used at home.
When to stop driving?
Are you supporting someone with memory loss who is currently driving or who has recently stopped driving?
You can participate in this research. The HOPE Foundation for Research on Ageing supports this current research lead by HOPE Scholar, Kushalata Baral.
This research aims to build a comprehensive national understanding of driving cessation among people with cognitive impairment; we are seeking your support to advance our current research. “When to stop driving? An exploration into driving cessation decision-making for people with cognitive impairment" is a research study conducted at the University of Waikato, supported by Dementia New Zealand and Dementia Waikato.
The first phase was completed in 2024 and involved six focus groups across the Waikato region with family members and health professionals. Key themes emerged around: including families in decision-making; managing complex risk; systemic support gaps; the need to normalise the transition; and the critical importance of accessible transport alternatives.
These insights directly inform the current, nationwide phase: a web-based survey aiming to capture the perspectives of over 500 New Zealanders who have supported someone with memory loss around the decision to stop driving. The goal is to translate lived experience into evidence that can advocate for clearer guidelines, better support systems and dignified transitions.
We warmly invite all affiliate organisations to promote this survey through their newsletters, social media, and other relevant channels to ensure we gather a truly representative and powerful community voice.
To the participants:
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the dedicated family members who shared their deep, personal insights during our initial focus groups. Your contributions provided the essential foundation for this work; they help us connect the rich details from our conversations on driving cessation decision-making with the broader patterns we hope to see across Aotearoa. By sharing your voice again, you help ensure the results truly reflect the experiences of families and carers.
Building on what we learned from you, we are now launching the next vital phase: a nationwide online survey. This allows us to amplify your powerful stories into broader national evidence. Your continued participation is invaluable, and the survey will remain open until 30 April 2026.
This research has ethical committee approval from the University of Waikato. Reference number: HREC(Health)2023#44, University of Waikato.