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.

Annual General Meeting:

Annual General Meeting 2021-2022 with Special Guest Speaker: Dr Bram de Boer: 'Innovative nursing home care for people with dementia: a Dutch perspective & applications

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

Upcoming Events:

Online winter symposium on ‘Supporting Resilience and Wellbeing amongst Care Home Staff’ 

The symposium will be held online, from 12:00-14:00 (UK time) on Wednesday 22^nd February 2023,  and will comprise four fantastic presentations and a moderated Q&A session. Further details are below. 

The symposium is free to attend, and is open to anyone with an interest in care homes research and practice. So please do share this information across your own networks. 

Register via our Eventbrite link here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/supporting-resilience-wellbeing-amongst-care-home-staff-tickets-519624750617

Further details

Presentation 1: Care Home Nursing during Covid-19: ethical conundrums

Speaker: Dr Diane Bunn, Associate Professor of Nursing Research, University of East Anglia 

Overview: During 2021 we interviewed NMC-Registered Nurses working in care homes, exploring how nursing during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on wellbeing. Findings, framed by Tronto’s ethics of care, report on the moral distress arising from complex ethical conundrums in continuing to provide care during this time.

Presentation 2: From Online to Ongoing - Supportive Conversations and Reflection Sessions with Care Home Staff (OSCaRS) on death and dying

Speaker: Dr Susan Shenkin, Clinical Academic Geriatrician, University of Edinburgh

Overview: I will describe how Reflection and Debriefing sessions which were being provided monthly in care homes were moved to online during COVID and provided opportunities for supportive conversations and reflections, the learning from this, and how the research-led service has now been integrated into the local NHS care home support provision.

Presentation 3: Co-designing an online resource to support the resilience of care home staff

Speaker: Dr Anita Mallon, Research Fellow, Queen’s University Belfast

Overview: This talk will focus on the process and outcomes of the co-design workshops undertaken with care home staff.

Presentation 4:Practice Based Approaches to Supporting the Work-Related Wellbeing of Care Home staff

Speaker: Lucy Johnston, Senior Research Fellow, Edinburgh Napier University

Overview: This talk will cover findings from our published scoping review and current programme of work. The work has been funded by a Scottish Health Board, has three linked projects, and all aim to improve staff wellbeing and retention, by supporting best practice and service improvement.

Moderator:

The session will be moderated by Professor Christine Brown Wilson, Professor of Education in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast. Christine is a Registered Nurse with an international research profile in Ageing and Dementia in care homes.

Past Events:

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

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 

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 

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. 

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.