How much does environment in a care home effect quality of life?
Verity Walters a PhD research student at Swansea University is looking into the best physical environments in care homes and extra care settings.
Verity studied a psychology degree and then went on to complete an MSC in Aging Studies remembering her experience of visiting older relatives in care homes.
Inspired by the dementia villages in Denmark
Inspired by the dementia villages in Denmark, Verity wanted to understand how people’s surroundings such as access to the outdoors and personal belongings, the size of rooms and noise levels could affect resident’s wellbeing.
Her research will involve observation, an hour long zoom call with care home managers and a focus group with residents to understand what factors are important for good living environments. This information will help organisations going through renovations and those who want to find ways to make small changes to improve the lives of their residents
Verity said: “Moving into a new home can be very daunting especially if you’ve lived in one house for a very long period of time. My research will look at a range of different spaces and set-ups to understand how best to improve the lives of residents.
“For example, one care home I read about had a pub, a small bar area in a room where residents could emulate the swift half on their way home from work. For most organisations, I hope my research will provide the evidence needed to add more plants, sensory rooms or make small changes to their space to improve morale.
Chat to managers about their experience
“I’d love to chat to as many care home and extra care home managers about their experience to provide a full picture of the physical environments already in Wales, as well as those living in these homes.”
Verity’s study, called Reimagining Care Environments for Wellbeing: What works for Care staff and Residents, started recruiting in 2020 but was put on hold due to the pandemic.
ENRICH Cymru manager, Deborah Morgan, supporting this study is encouraging care homes in Wales to get involved. She said: “There’s a very outdated view of a care home being one big room of 20 or so people sat in chairs staring into space.
“We know that’s not the case and this research is a great way to put all the great work of care homes working on their physical environment in one place to share best practice and help other care homes in Wales and across the UK improve the quality of their residents' lives.”
For more information on how to get involved in this research contact Verity.