Project Description:
This project examines the complex and multifaceted nature of vulnerability in everyday life, focusing on older adults (65+). Moving beyond a purely healthcare-centred perspective, we explore how vulnerability emerges in social interactions, community engagement, and access to essential services. Through a Citizen science approach, we will collaborate with older adults as co-researchers, ensuring that their lived experiences shape the broader understanding of vulnerability and its implications for policy and practice. Addressing vulnerability entails a focus on the structural inequalities that limit older adults’ access to care and support, as these disparities not only affect individual well-being but also contribute to broader societal and economic challenges and inequality.
Project Type: Kickstarter
Theme: Inclusion
Mentor:Paolo Giardullo
Empowering Older Adults: Giving Vulnerability a Voice
This project is a collaboration between COPe – the Research Centre for Culture and Vulnerability in Older People – and the SDU Citizen Science Knowledge Centre. The project is led by Professor Dorthe S. Nielsen, Centre Director at COPe.
The project explores how older adults experience and express vulnerability in later life across cultural, social, and personal contexts. Through five conversation sessions held in Vollsmose and Klintebjerg, we invited 59 older people to share their reflections on ageing, loss, loneliness, strength, and belonging.
In parallel, a public survey conducted at the Danish People’s Meeting (Folkemødet 2025) collected 99 responses, offering insight into public perceptions of ageing and vulnerability in Denmark.
Participants were not research subjects but co-creators of knowledge. Their stories form a collective voice that shows vulnerability not as a weakness but as a profoundly human condition.
In a society that often associates ageing with decline, this project challenges that narrative. Vulnerability is part of being human, yet social systems, cultural expectations, and healthcare structures shape it. By listening to older adults on their own terms, we gain valuable insights into how care, policy, and community life can better support dignity and participation in later life.
Through the IMPETUS Accelerator, we have strengthened our focus on communication and co-creation within this citizen science project. IMPETUS has provided an opportunity to clarify and sharpen our project outcomes, ensuring that the work will create meaningful long-term impact.
The project continues with further data analysis and the development of educational materials, including workshops for healthcare professionals and students. Our next step is to translate narratives and workshop insights into practical approaches for recognising and responding to vulnerability in healthcare encounters. We will also continue to seek additional funding.
By empowering older adults to speak—and by ensuring that professionals and policymakers truly listen—we aim to build a more inclusive and compassionate approach to ageing in Denmark and beyond.
