'Kookaburras, kangaroos and my frilly-necked lizard': The value of wildlife, nature and companion animals for older community-dwelling Australians.

OBJECTIVE: With little research investigating older Australians' experience of companion animal (pet) ownership or wildlife encounters, this paper focuses on the value of animals in their lives. METHODS: Three online focus groups explored 103 older adults' lived experience of home and community, with this paper focused on interactions with animals-companion animals and wildlife. RESULTS: Most (60%) had at least one pet, which brought love and joy into their lives. Reflexive thematic analysis identified three themes: pets as family; challenges of pet ownership; and connection to everyday wildlife and nature. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to valuing companion animals (typically cats and dogs), this research is among the first to show that some older people also develop ongoing relationships with local Australian wildlife, such as kookaburras, kangaroos, lizards and birds, which raises the possibility that fostering connections with wildlife may enhance well-being.

Fears and freedoms: A qualitative analysis of older adults' basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, relatedness and beneficence.

OBJECTIVES: Self-determination theory posits three universal psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness. Beneficence has recently been proposed as an important behaviour for improved well-being and eudaimonia. This study sought to qualitatively examine older adults' experiences of basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration. METHODS: Three separate and simultaneous national online focus groups were undertaken over four consecutive days. Older Australians (n =103) explored home and community life. Themes were identified using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Older adults are challenged in satisfying their psychological needs, especially around the time - and after- they retire and as mobility decreases. Beneficence emerged as important for well-being, congruent with evidence that beneficence influences well-being beyond basic psychological need fulfilment. CONCLUSIONS: Satisfactions and frustration may manifest differently for older adults than for other groups. Thus, their experiences may not adequately be captured by self-report measures. Novel themes of 'fears and freedoms' were identified in the study. Fear pertained to the loss of autonomy and the freedom to spend time as one wishes.

My home in later life: A phenomenographic study of older adults' experience of home.

Home environments are especially important for older adults whose lives are more home-based than earlier life stages. Despite a focus on ageing in place, there often remains a mismatch between housing options prioritised by government and industry, and the needs and preferences of older adults. This paper considers the breadth of home environments experienced by diverse older Australians and highlights the varied ways they use and think about their homes. Data from three national online focus groups (n1 = 33, n2 = 37, n3 = 33) with people aged 50-92 were analysed using phenomenographic approaches to explore the different ways older adults perceived their home environments, resulting in four hierarchical conceptions. People displayed vastly different lifetime housing pathways (Clapham, 2005), leading to diverse perceptions about the place and experience of home in their later lives. In assessing the suitability of their housing, older people considered a large number of household members: current, expected or desired co-residents; transitory, short, medium and long-term residents; near and extended family, friends and dependents. This has important implications for policy and design responses on older adult's homes, which are typically focussed on occupancy by one or two individuals. To avoid assumptions about household makeup and usage based solely on the chronological age of residents, the perspective of older adults must be embraced in designing their future housing.