REFLECTIONS FROM A CARE HOME MANAGER ON RESEARCH TAKING PLACE WITHIN THEIR CARE HOME – What researchers need to know
Introduction
Marlene Kelly was the Registered Manager at Auburn Mere Care Home from 2006 to 2024. More recently, she has become increasingly involved in research, now dividing her time equally between research and practice. In this blog, Marlene reflects on her experiences of working with researchers, sharing what has worked well in these collaborations and offering tips for researchers conducting studies in care home settings.
Experience of research within the care home
Marlene’s first experiences of research within the care home came through two different projects—both of which proved challenging. One relied heavily on her for recruitment, which, she says, “took hours.” The other involved researchers with “minimal experience of care homes.” In both cases, communication was poor, and the care home received no feedback or findings from the research.
Experience of what works well (or less well) for recruiting staff, residents and others in the care home
It seems that the biggest hurdle is clarity in time and managing expectations. It’s one thing to be ambitious with timings when planning research, but underestimating time commitments when communicating with care homes adds pressure, and ultimately could mean the research will not work, as well as putting off a care home from joining research in the future. There is no such thing as too much information in planning times with a care home.
“You need to work out how long you think you will need and double it. You need someone that really knows care homes advising you…in your public involvement group or an expert by experience. Be realistic and clear with the home. It’s simple things like if you call me as a registered manager and we agree a time for recruitment on Friday at 10am, the reality is I will allocate you 45mins, and you might be thinking you need 3-4 hours. Be clear about what you’re asking and what you need. It’s so important to know exactly what you need from the home and for the home to understand and commit to that before you start.”
How to help engaging with care homes
Providing clarity and building solid relationships with care home staff are key factors in engaging with care homes during a research project.
“Keep the research brief and understandable. Talk to them about the outcomes and long-term impact your research could have on the sector. You need rapport – the key person is likely to be an activity coordinator or a support worker that knows the residents very well and is well established in the team.”
Researchers with previous experience of care homes versus not
Understanding how care homes function and how to speak to the different people within care homes can make a difference in how well a care home research project runs and the quality of information obtained.
“It’s easy to tell if a researcher is comfortable in the care home setting, I would recommend volunteering or doing some work experience in care homes as it will make an enormous difference to how you fit into the environment and how you are perceived. Practice building rapport with people, know how to talk with older people and build relationships quickly. I have met researchers at the start of their career that have never had a conversation with a person over the age of eighty, or experienced dementia or death. Of course, some people will be fine, but others need a foundation of experience. Spending time in care homes as researchers gives you opportunities to see what the sector needs and come up withll creative ideas for research that could have a real impact on improving the lives of people that live in care homes.”
Involving care home staff and residents throughout the research process
Communication throughout the research process, including during data collection needs to be strong and inclusive.
“Keep the home informed, a paragraph in the monthly newsletter, make them an Instagram post or write an update for their Facebook page. Attend a residents meeting. Keep reminding people of the outcomes and potential impact in the future. Be inclusive, include everyone and keep them updated.”
Avoiding additional burden to residents and staff
It’s no secret that care homes are, in general, under resourced and overburdened. With research comes a responsibility to limit any potential additional burden and give back to care homes.
“Think about what you can offer back to care homes: some team building, or wellbeing activities for the team, or any training, which will add value and enable you to build rapport with the team. Make notes, learn from the care home team, and communicate well with your research team so the people in the care home are not repeatedly asked the same questions.”
Experience of research ending: thank you, payments, reimbursement
A good ending to a project is as important as a good start and clear communication throughout. It can be the difference between a care home being open to share knowledge in the future or not.
“It needs to be made easier. My experience is that there is so much red tape. If you are giving vouchers to residents, then get advice on which ones. [Vouchers] created an activity of online shopping for something [residents] wanted or needed and waiting for parcels seemed to provide some excitement and enjoyment. Researchers need to do the work applying for the vouchers and receiving them to give to the home – don’t pass this admin on.”
The importance of follow-up and dissemination
Research planning always addresses dissemination of information; however, it does not always factor in the best ways of disseminating information to care homes in an accessible way. Research projects can benefit from learning from follow ups as much if it is done well.
“Follow up with the home to see how everything has gone. Include a final meeting, ask them if you can give them any evidence of their participation for their CQC inspector. Include what worked and didn’t work in your report so others can learn from it. Remember that these contacts could be your future PPIE members, or experts by experience.”
About the authors
By Marlene Kelly, in collaboration with the DEM-COMM Care Home Practices Special Interest Group. The DEM-COMM Care Home Practices Special Interest Group comprises of Megan Davies, Tamara Backhouse, Olivia Luijnenburg, James Faraday, Steven Lyons, Orii McDermott, Georgia Bell, and Laura Prato.
