Care Homes Research

Aims & Objectives:

The SIG aims to strengthen research, policy, and practice in all areas of care homes research, including those related to staff, residents, family members and carers, as well as the home environment, and its links with external organisations. We also aim to develop complementary working relationships with the other SIGs, as well as other groups and organisations that support care homes research. 

Our objectives are to:

• provide platforms for discussion and debate;
• facilitate the development of research collaborations and funding proposals;
• increase capacity for care home research;
• promote methodological development around the novel challenges in care homes research;
• support the dissemination and application of research findings to improve the lives of residents, carers and other stakeholders. 

Members

Steering Committee Members:

Joining the SIG:

If you would like to be part of the Care Homes Research SIG, please contact the SIG at BSGcarehomesSIG@britishgerontology.org.

Please also follow us on Twitter @BSGcarehomes

Opportunities:

We regularly run online symposia on topics related to care homes research. Please email BSGcarehomesSIG@britishgerontology.org if you would be interested in presenting at one of these symposia.

BSG Care Homes Research SIG Blog:

The BSG Care Homes Research SIG Blog is open to anyone with an interest in care homes research: care home providers and staff, academics, health and social care professionals, residents, families and friends.

For more details, please visit our Blog website where you will find Blogs and information about how to submit a Blog: www.bsgsigcarehomesblog.co.uk.

Annual General Meeting:

Our 2025 AGM is expected to be held in May/June 2025. Further details will be available nearer the time.

 The reports from our previous Annual General Meetings can be found below.

Upcoming Events:

Music in Care Homes: Online Spring Symposium: 1pm-2:30pm (GMT) on Tuesday 25^th March 2025

Please join us as we host this year’s spring symposium, which focusses on Music in Care Homes. The symposium will be held online, and will comprise two presentations followed by Q&As and a general discussion.

The symposium is free and is open to anyone with an interest in care homes research and practice.

Please register at https://forms.office.com/e/vtTKvajpCj to get the Zoom link

Further details

Presentation 1: What do we care about when we care about music? Implications for later life care settings.

Speaker: Dr Gary Ansdell: music therapist, researcher and author.

Overview: This talk discusses the findings from the recent ARHC-funded Care for Music project – a detailed ethnography of music and music therapy in care homes and hospices in the UK and Norway. The talk will focus on a care home in the UK and the very practical but elusive question of what we care for when we care for music – individually and together – and how this sheds light on the quality of person-centred caring in later life settings.

Presentation 2: The role of live music in residential dementia care

Speaker: Douglas Noble: Strategic Director for Music in Health (Live Music Now)

Overview: Drawing on Live Music Now’s approach to musical care, this talk will explore how live music can support people living with dementia and their carers, and the role of live music in residential dementia care.

Past Events:

Technology in Care Homes: Online Autumn Symposium: Wednesday 20th November 2024

Presentation 1: Using digital technologies in care homes to support interaction with residents with dementia

Speaker: Dr Michelle Heward, Lecturer and Deputy Co-Lead of the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre at Bournemouth University.

Presentation 2: Pilot implementation of a co-designed educational e-resource to reduce restrictive practices in care homes

Speaker: Dr Patrick Stark, Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland.

BSG Care Homes Research SIG Symposium at the BSG Annual Conference: 3^rd July 2024: Issues and Innovations in Care Homes Research, Practice and Policy

Presentation 1: Is there a coherent legal framework surrounding the use of CCTV cameras in publicly owned care homes protecting the right to privacy and the right to security of residents?

Presented by: Ruth Onafuye (University of Greenwich) 

Presentation 2: Exploring Care homes as learning environments: towards sustainable nursing workforce education..

Presented by: Oluwakemi Adeboye (Northumbria University)

Presentation 3: The importance of ‘instant impact’ to care home staff and residents who take part in research

Presented by: Laura Brown (University of Manchester)

Presentation 4: Developing a Research Practice Partnership: reflections on the first two years

Presented by: Jennifer Liddle (Newcastle University) and staff from Eothen Care Homes

Chair: Professor Christine Brown Wilson, Queen’s University Belfast

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BSG Care Homes Research SIG Symposium at the BSG Annual Conference: 5^th July 2024: Caring for Care Home Residents

Presentation 1: Exploring the barriers and enablers to the delivery of high-quality person-centred care in care homes: An ethnographic case study

Presented by: Dr Gary Hodge (University of Plymouth). 

Presentation 2: An evaluation of the relevance and potential use of Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) in assessing quality of life amongst older adult care home residents for health protection practice

Presented by: Dr Wenjing Zhang (University of Kent).

Presentation 3: Change and continuity: The work of informal carers before, during and after an older person with cognitive impairment moves into a care home

Presented by: Dr Fawn Harrad-Hyde (University of Leicester and LOROS Centre for Excellence). 

Chair: Dr Laura Brown, University of Manchester

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BSG Care Homes Research SIG AGM: 12^th June 2024

Special Guest Speaker: Professor Yun-Hee Jeon (University of Sydney): ‘Reablement model of care for people with dementia in care homes - Reality check in progress’

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Developing Competencies amongst Health and Social Care Staff within Care Homes – Online Spring Symposium: 2^nd May 2024

Presentation 1:Medical care for care home residents: quality improvement, training GPs, and placement of medical students.

Speakers: Neil Chadborn and Lauren McCarthy (University of Nottingham)

Presentation 2: Inter-professional placements in care homes – exploring ways to develop a current project where medical students work as healthcare assistants.

Speakers: Susanne Lindqvist and Elizabeth Davison (University of East Anglia)

Presentation 3: Reciprocal practice learning with adult social care: sharing a successful pedagogical model

Speakers: Pam Hodge (Middlesex University) and Louise Keane (Nurse Education Lead & Social Care Advisory Council Lead for North Central London ICB)

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International Care Homes Research – Online Symposium: 9th January 2024, 2-4pm

Presentation 1: The Global Observatory of Long-Term Care: an opportunity for international learning and exchange

Speaker: Adelina Comas-Herrera (Assistant Professorial Research Fellow, Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK).

Presentation 2: Developing ‘DrinKit Brasil’: a collaborative UK/Brazil project to support care home residents to drink well and prevent dehydration

Speakers: Dr Diane Bunn (Associate Professor of Nursing Research, University of East Anglia, UK) and Christine Abdalla (Consultant in Aging and Collective and Assisted Housing, and Manager President of LTCF Associação Convivência Vila do Sol – Rio de Janeiro, Brasil).

Innovative Approaches to Improving Practice in Care Homes: The Care Homes Research SIG Symposium at the British Society of Gerontology’s 2023 Annual Conference

•  Presentation 1: Researching in residence: opportunities for co-production, inclusion and empowerment for people who live and work in care homes

Isabelle Latham (University of Worcester). 

•  Presentation 2: The Cognitive Daisy (COG-D): A novel approach to supporting person centred care in care homes for people living with dementia. Preliminary findings of a feasibility CRT Petra Pollux (University of Lincoln)

•  Presentation 3: Could peer-mentors support families of care home residents to prepare for future deteriorations and end-of-life?

Fawn Harrad-Hyde (University of Leicester)

•  Presentation 4: The importance of inter-generational contact: medical students working as healthcare assistants in care homes

Elizabeth Davison (University of East Anglia)

 Chair and discussant: Dr Laura Brown, University of Manchester

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BSG Care Homes Research SIG AGM: Mon 12^th June 2023 Special Guest Speaker: Dr Sharon Kaasalainen (McMaster University, Canada): ‘Improving Capacity in Care Homes to Implement a Palliative Approach to Care: Where Do We Go From Here?’

 The reports from our previous Annual General Meetings can be found below.

Winter Symposium (Wed 22^nd Feb 2023):Supporting Resilience and Wellbeing amongst Care Home Staff

Presentation 1: Care Home Nursing during Covid-19: ethical conundrums. Presented by Dr Diane Bunn, Associate Professor of Nursing Research, University of East Anglia 

Presentation 2:From Online to Ongoing - Supportive Conversations and Reflection Sessions with Care Home Staff (OSCaRS) on death and dying. Presented by Dr Susan Shenkin, Clinical Academic Geriatrician, University of Edinburgh

Presentation 3:  Co-designing an online resource to support the resilience of care home staff. Presented by Dr Anita Mallon, Research Fellow, Queen’s University Belfast

Presentation 4: Practice Based Approaches to Supporting the Work-Related Wellbeing of Care Home staff. Written by  Lucy Johnston, Senior Research Fellow, Edinburgh Napier University. Presented by Dr Susan Shenkin, Clinical Academic Geriatrician, University of Edinburgh

Chaired by Professor Christine Brown Wilson

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Autumn Symposium Fri 25^th November 2022: Turning Care Homes Research into Practice: How Can Care Homes Research Have More Positive Impact on Everyday Care Home Practice?

Speakers:

• Professor Adam Gordon: Professor of Care of Older People, University of Nottingham
• Nuno Lopes: Director of Care, Nightingale Hammerson.
• Heather Bell: Research Delivery Manager, CRN West of England and Local ENRICH Lead
• Glen Garrod: Executive Director of Adult Care and Community Wellbeing for Lincolnshire Country Council

BSG Care Homes Research SIG Symposium at the BSG Annual Conference: 7^th July 2022: Developing Connected and Resilient Care Home Communities in Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Presentation 1: Interactions and relationships between ancillary staff and care home residents and their relatives.

Dr Olivia Luijnenburg: King’s College London. 

 Presentation 2: Supporting nursing-home nurses’ mental well-being during and after the COVID-19 pandemic (The THRIVE study).

 Dr Diane Bunn, University of Easy Anglia

 Chair and discussant: Dr Laura Brown, University of Manchester

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BSG Care Homes Research SIG AGM: 24^th May 2022

Special Guest Speaker: Dr Bram de Boer (Maastricht University): 'Innovative nursing home care for people with dementia: a Dutch perspective & applications’

Winter Symposium 25th Jan 2022: Equality and Diversity Issues in Care Homes. 

Presentation 1: Mistreatment and inequalities of racialised care home staff: Implications on care workers and residents’ outcomes

Professor Shereen Hussein, Professor of Health and Social Care Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine 

Presentation 2: Perspectives on the experiences of people with a learning disability and dementia in care homes.

Dr Karen Watchman, Senior Lecturer in Health Sciences Stirling at the University of Stirling 

Presentation 3: Supporting care homes to improve their support for LGBT+ older people

Professor Trish Hafford-Letchfield, Head of School, School of Social Work and Social Policy, University of Strathclyde 

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Autumn Symposium 19^th October 2021: Ethics, Governance and Capacity to Consent in Care Homes.

Presentation 1: ‘He would want to help if he could’: conducting ethical research with care home residents with impaired capacity to consent.

Dr Victoria Shepherd, Cardiff University. 

Presentation 2: Supporting study set up and the capacity & capability process for care home research in the CRN West Midlands.

Lauren Thakrar & Sandra Prew, CRN West Midlands. 

Presentation 3: Doing research around death and dying with people with learning disabilities: Is it possible? Is it ethical?

Professor Irene Tuffrey-Wijne, Kingston & St George’s University of London.

BSG Care Homes Research SIG Conference Symposium 2021: Responding to the Impact of Covid-19 

Presentation 1: Views of residential respite for older people living with dementia and carers pre-Covid-19 and during the pandemic. findings from an interview-based study.

Dr Kritika Samsi: King’s College London. 

Presentation 2: Discounting older disabled people in care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic: The English government’s breaches of care, equality and human rights laws.

Dr Sue Westwood, University of York

Presentation 3: Innovation and change to support care home residents and staff during COVID-19 and beyond.

Dr Susan Shenkin, University of Edinburgh 

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Winter Symposium 26th Jan 2021: Developing Solutions to Support Care Homes during the COVID pandemic. 

Presentation 1: Evaluation of the Enhanced Universal Support Offer to Care Homes across the NEY Region.

Dr Sally Fowler Davis, Sheffield Hallam University. 

Presentation 2: Exploiting digital care for older people during a pandemic.

Professor Martin J Vernon, University of Manchester, NHS England and NHS Improvement. 

Autumn Symposium 24th November, 2020: Promoting independence and wellbeing among those living with dementia in long-term care/care homes. 

Presentation 1: Material Citizenship: Functional objects for meaningful lives.

Dr Kellyn Lee, University of Southampton, UK. 

Presentation 2: The role of exercise in preventing falls and fractures for long-term care residents with dementia.

Dr Caitlin McArthur, Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. 

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BSG Care Homes Research SIG Inaugural Conference Symposium 2nd July, 2020: Promoting wellbeing in care homes. 

Presentation 1: Volunteer-led Behavioural Activation for treatment of depression in care homes.

Associate Professor Christina Bryant, University of Melbourne. 

Presentation 2: Sativex® for the Treatment of AgitatioN in Dementia (STAND trial) - a feasibility study.

Dr Chris Albertyn, Kings College London. 

Presentation 3: How can we best support the care home community through research: Developing a research network for care homes in Wales.

DrStephanie Green, Swansea University.