Research in Care Homes and Sheltered Accommodation

As a Community Research Nurse, I’m passionate about making research accessible outside of formal NHS settings, making it easier and more convenient to take part.

My background is in District Nursing so I also know how much people value getting care in their own homes and the extra insights you can gain when they feel safe and comfortable in their own space.

VAlidation of the Mcast CommunicAtion Screening Tool (VAMCAST)

When we began the VAMCAST Study, validating a new communication screening tool for stroke survivors, we knew many of our potential participants would be living in care homes or extra-sheltered accommodation, so it made sense to make recruiting there a key strategy.

As well as providing a research opportunity to an underserved group – many wouldn’t have been offered this before – it also saves time for the research team, as we can see several patients in one visit.  Our Trust covers a large part of Greater Manchester so travelling to individual participants’ homes can take up a lot of time – we can potentially see three care home residents in the time it would take to see just one in individual homes.

In addition, it’s good to act as an ambassador for research, helping staff in the care homes to understand research but without making a lot of extra work for them! I feel we’ve broken down barriers and it makes a big difference when the staff are interested and engaged.

We’ve been able to visit 10 care homes so far, recruiting 25 participants, and the key to success has been getting their managers on board. It’s really important that they know straightaway that it won’t be a burden on their staff resources and that we will fit in around their timetable so we don’t disrupt the smooth running of the home. Managers have also been pleased to hear that being research-active is a useful factor in CQC ratings.

My experience has been that participants enjoy taking part and chatting to someone new. They often have quite a bit of spare time so it breaks up the day and they also say that it’s good to be contributing. The key facilitator is getting the manager and staff on board – once that happens, they make the introductions and that makes it easier for us.

We do have to plan our work around the visits as sometimes we’re only able to have a short timeslot and that can be challenging. We also have to make our ‘sales pitch’ to the manager afresh each time as each home has its own systems and requirements.

But now they have experienced  research and appreciate how it can add benefit without disrupting their usual work, we’re really hopeful that we can build on these relationships and offer further studies.

Jenny is a Research Nurse for the  Community Research Team, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust.