Innovation in supporting older people living in care homes

我的博士研究发现，住在养老院的老年人的支持网络如何影响他们的健康。通过与居民交谈，我了解了是谁支持他们，他们是如何得到支持的，以及这些人是否彼此认识。这有助于建立一个支持网络，并更好地理解为什么居民感到一些人比其他人更支持他们。研究结果表明，搬进养老院通过提供更多的照顾解决了一系列问题，但也产生了一系列新的问题，使老年人感到更孤立。特别是，该研究发现，尽管许多居民有复杂的护理需求，但许多居民并没有感受到工作人员的支持，他们认为大部分的支持是由家庭提供的。住院医生确定了一些可以改善工作人员/住院医生关系的方法。结果发现了一些获得支持的障碍，特别是在考虑到与朋友、邻居和社区关系的联系时。确定了维持支持性联系的替代方法和解决方案，这将使居民在社会上感到不那么孤立，并在选择社会联系时获得权力。让利益攸关方参与这些基于证据的调查结果和建议，可以改善养老院老年人的社会包容和福祉。推广这项工作，可让安老院决策者了解在支援安老院院友方面的差距，并建议他们建立一个更广泛的安老院社区，以协助安老院院友。重要的是，我的研究还发现，护理院可以通过利用外部机构的资源，并将他们的服务整合到护理院的日常工作中，从而通过有目的的活动和在护理院社区提供更广泛的支持服务，鼓励居民之间的社会化，从而提高对他们的支持。在我的博士研究中，养老院招募了Impact Arts（一家位于苏格兰的公司，旨在“通过创造力帮助人们和社区改变他们的生活”）在他们的家中经营手工咖啡。这些咖啡馆为居民提供艺术服务，与训练有素的艺术家一起，在一个完全致力于艺术的养老院空间里。居民们讨论了咖啡馆和影响艺术的工作人员如何为社会包容创造机会，并为他们的福祉做出贡献。由于咖啡豆并不是博士的主要研究重点，所以这个项目并没有对此进行探讨。本研究将探讨影响艺术如何改善安老院居民的生活，以及为什么居民认为影响艺术的服务与安老院或其他服务提供的活动不同。数据将在不同的护理院通过3个焦点小组收集。这种评估性研究可以提供手工艺咖啡创造的社会财富的证据，并允许影响艺术继续并潜在地扩大其业务。这项研究的传播可以让护理院行业借鉴影响艺术使用的模型，从而改善护理院的支持提供。

My PhD research found how the support networks of older people living in care homes affected their wellbeing. By talking to residents, I constructed an idea of who supported them, how they were supported and established if those people knew one another. This allowed the construction of a support network and gave a better understanding of why residents felt supported by some people more than others. Findings suggest that moving into a care home solves one set of problems by providing more care, but creates a new set of problems by making the older person feel more socially isolated. In particular, the research identified that many residents did not feel supported by staff and felt the majority of their support was provided by family, despite many residents having complex care needs. Residents identified a number of ways staff/resident relationships could be improved. Results identified a number of barriers to support, especially when considering connections with friends, neighbours and community connections. Alternative approaches and solutions to maintaining supportive connections were identified, which would enable residents to feel less socially isolated and empowered in their choice of social connections. Engaging stakeholders with these evidence-based findings and recommendations could improve the social inclusion and wellbeing of older people living in care homes. Disseminating this work would inform CH decision-makers of the gaps in support for residents and advise them of the possibilities of creating a wider care home community which would help support residents. Importantly for this fellowship, my research also found that care homes could improve support by drawing on the resources of external organisations and integrating their services into care home routines in order to encourage socialization between residents through activities with purpose and wider supportive services in the care home community. Care homes included in my PhD research recruited Impact Arts (a company based across Scotland which aim to 'help people and communities transform their lives through creativity') to run craft cafés in their homes. These cafés offered art services to residents, with trained artists, in a care home space which was completely dedicated to art. Residents discussed how the cafés and Impact Art staff created an opportunity for social inclusion and contributed to their wellbeing. As the cafés were not the main focus of the PhD, this was not explored in the project. The research will explore how Impact Arts aims to improve the lives of care home residents, and why residents believe the services of Impact Arts is different from activities provided by the care home or other services. Data will be collected through 3 focus groups at different care homes. This evaluative research could produce evidence of the social wealth that craft cafés create and allow Impact Arts to continue and potentially expand their business. The dissemination of this research could allow the care home industry to draw on the model used by Impact Arts and thus, improve the provision of support in care homes.