15 care homes across England, Scotland and Wales are taking part in the research. The team will be conducting interviews in each care home this winter, speaking with four different groups – older people living in residential care, relatives, care teams and care home managers.
Through the project they aim to:
- Understand the resistances to and benefits of moving into a residential care home.
- Recognise the perceptions and expectations that older people and their relatives have of care homes before and after a move.
- Identify the things that helped or hindered a successful move into a care home.
- Identify the psychosocial wellbeing benefits of living in a care home.
- Highlight best practice in helping older people feel at home in a care home.
- Notice and highlight the ways in which older people are best able to find self-expression, autonomy and social connection within their residence at a care home.
This research offers a unique opportunity to hear the often unrepresented voices of older people who live in care homes across the UK. Remarkably, research of this kind has not previously been undertaken on this scale.
From the research the team hopes to be able to create a significant data set, which could be used as the foundation for future research analysis. It could also be used to attract funding to develop the first national qualitative longitudinal cohort study of care home voices.
The research project is supported by a Residential Care Experiences advisory group including representation from the Care Quality Commission, an older person living in a care home, family carers, a care home manager, academic researchers, Hallmark Foundation trustees and others.
We intend to share outcomes of the project widely in 2024 and beyond, so please watch this space!
