Research conversation: Older people, friendships and community spaces

About the event

Laura’s PhD explores older peoples experiences of friendship and the role of community spaces, such as community centres or clubs for older people. She has been interviewing older people who attend various clubs and centres and asking questions about the friendships they have and where they made them.

Laura is interested in the role of community spaces and the social connections we can make there, in mitigating loneliness and social isolation. She is thinking about ways we can improve this screening process for patients and for people who work in health and social care.

Laura would like help with understanding and interpreting the themes emerging from her interviews, including what elements are most interesting and most important.

About the speaker

Laura Bennett is a PhD student at the University of Bristol.

She started her PhD in 2024. She had worked in health and social care research for several years before that.

Before moving into research she began her career training to be an NHS manager.

Since then she has worked on research projects about community health services, social care, loneliness and domestic abuse.

What is a research conversation?

Research conversations are hosted by People in Health West of England and are informal sessions which are designed to give researchers and public contributors a chance to interact. Public contributors are encouraged to ask questions, learn about, and get involved in projects in their area.