Aging in Situ: A New Methodological Tool for the Study of Health and Wellbeing in Older Adulthood

In rapidly aging societies experiencing complex health transitions, socio-demographic shifts, and limited alternatives to family-based care, understanding the aging experience is essential at both individual and population levels. This paper focuses on rural South Africa, where over 70% of adults aged 50 and older live with at least two chronic conditions. We describe the development, implementation, and application of a novel observational tool designed to explore how older adults navigate their health and wellbeing in daily life. Twelve women and men (aged 60+) with varying health conditions and living arrangements—living alone, with a spouse, or in multigenerational households—were observed for nine hours per week over six weeks, totaling over 50 hours per participant. Observations were conducted at different times of day and across various days of the week to capture daily activities (e.g., cooking, resting, praying), social interactions (e.g., with family members, neighbors), and general disposition (e.g., tired, joyful, in pain). Ethnographic field notes provided additional context. Between visits, participants reported routine medical activities (e.g., medication collection) and any recent illnesses or injuries (e.g., acute illness, falls). These observations enable multiple avenues for analysis, including calculating duration of isolation, age distribution of visitors, and the gendered experience of aging. This approach was embedded in a broader multi-method study, which included 30 in-depth interviews with older adults and select household members, drawn from a population-based cohort study of older rural South Africans. This methodology offers a new layer of data, complementing standard tools and enabling more nuanced insights into the risk and resilience factors that influence older adults’ health and wellbeing. Data from this new methodological tool offer valuable insights for researchers, healthcare providers, and policymakers addressing the unique challenges faced by aging populations in diverse contexts.