Co-designing a real-time digital experience sampling approach to understanding ageing well in the right place: The place-based inclusion of middle- to older-aged people with intellectual disabilities and middle- to older-aged LGBT+ people

TY - JOUR

T1 - Co-designing a real-time digital experience sampling approach to understanding ageing well in the right place

T2 - The place-based inclusion of middle- to older-aged people with intellectual disabilities and middle- to older-aged LGBT+ people

AU - Tai, Joe

AU - Sixsmith, Judith

AU - Fang, Mei Lan

AU - Chadwick, Darren D.

AU - Buell, Susan

AU - Levy, Susan

AU - Vytniorgu, Richard

AU - Gregory-Chialton, Joanna

AU - Dixon, Tracey

N1 - © 2026 The Authors.

PY - 2026/6/25

Y1 - 2026/6/25

N2 - Ageing well in place is a multidimensional concept that involves maintaining inter/independence, meaningful community participation, and a sense of purpose and belonging within supportive environments. For older people with intellectual disabilities and/or who identify as LGBT+, social and cultural inequalities can interact with age-related challenges such as morbidities and contracting social networks to hinder ageing well in place. This paper details the design and development of the Place Study, a digital, real-time Experience Sampling Method created to explore how older people with intellectual disabilities and/or who identify as LGBT+ navigate everyday experiences of inclusion and exclusion in physical places and online spaces which form their communities. The Place Study was co-designed with people with lived experience using principles of Community-Based Participatory Research to evaluate the usability, accessibility, and clarity of the study tool. The tool uses the ArcGIS Survery 123 platform to enable participants to submit reports consisting of multiple modalities, including text, audio, photographs, and geolocation, allowing for the generation of nuanced reflections of experiences of being in place. Iterative feedback from evaluation groups formed of people with intellectual disabilities and people who identify as LGBT+ allowed for refinements to accessibility and the creation of appropriate and effective scaffolding. Key challenges included hardware usability, software limitations, and the implementation of tailored and ongoing support. Solutions were co-produced through an action/feedback loop, resulting in a refined data generation tool with appropriate scaffolding to enhance participant engagement.

AB - Ageing well in place is a multidimensional concept that involves maintaining inter/independence, meaningful community participation, and a sense of purpose and belonging within supportive environments. For older people with intellectual disabilities and/or who identify as LGBT+, social and cultural inequalities can interact with age-related challenges such as morbidities and contracting social networks to hinder ageing well in place. This paper details the design and development of the Place Study, a digital, real-time Experience Sampling Method created to explore how older people with intellectual disabilities and/or who identify as LGBT+ navigate everyday experiences of inclusion and exclusion in physical places and online spaces which form their communities. The Place Study was co-designed with people with lived experience using principles of Community-Based Participatory Research to evaluate the usability, accessibility, and clarity of the study tool. The tool uses the ArcGIS Survery 123 platform to enable participants to submit reports consisting of multiple modalities, including text, audio, photographs, and geolocation, allowing for the generation of nuanced reflections of experiences of being in place. Iterative feedback from evaluation groups formed of people with intellectual disabilities and people who identify as LGBT+ allowed for refinements to accessibility and the creation of appropriate and effective scaffolding. Key challenges included hardware usability, software limitations, and the implementation of tailored and ongoing support. Solutions were co-produced through an action/feedback loop, resulting in a refined data generation tool with appropriate scaffolding to enhance participant engagement.

KW - Community-based participatory research

KW - Older people

KW - Intellectual disabilities

KW - LGBT+

KW - Experience sampling method

KW - Ageing well in place

KW - Co-design

U2 - 10.1016/j.wss.2026.100433

DO - 10.1016/j.wss.2026.100433

M3 - Article

SN - 2666-5581

VL - 11

JO - Wellbeing, Space and Society

JF - Wellbeing, Space and Society

M1 - 100433

ER -