The British Society of Gerontology Annual Conference, July 2023

For the first time in three years, the British Society of Gerontology (BSG) Annual Conference was an in-person three-day event, held at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. The conference involved a series of research talks and posters that describe a variety of issues relating to ageing and older people. There was a buzz and an enthusiasm to learn about developments in ageing issues around the globe, but also we were able to catch up with colleagues and finally meet new colleagues in person.

The BSG Care Homes Research Special Interest Group (SIG) had a significant presence at the conference. On the first day, we took part in the ‘meet the SIGs’ event where conference attendees had a chance to meet with all the BSG SIGs and find out more about them. On Day 2, we hosted our own symposium where four excellent speakers presented their work on:

• ‘researchers in residence’ (Isabelle Latham, on behalf of Hallmark Homes and the University of Worcester);
• ‘peer-mentors for residents families’ (Fawn Harrad-Hyde, University of Leicester);
• ‘the value of medical students working as healthcare assistants in care homes‘ (Elizabeth Davison, University of East Anglia); and
• the ‘cognitive daisy – supporting person-centred care for people living with dementia in care homes’ (Petra Pollux, representing the universities of Lincoln, Leeds, Hull and York).

These presentations were also ‘live streamed’ to people watching from home. We hope to make recordings of these presentations available soon. There were also many other oral and poster presentations from BSG Care Homes Research SIG members highlighting a wide range of work in this area.

We were also pleased to be able to launch the BSG Care Homes Research SIG blog to coincide with the British Society of Gerontology Annual Conference, and we are looking forward to hearing from bloggers across the world. If you have anything to say about care homes research, whether you are a resident, family and friend, volunteer, care home staff member, clinician, researcher, or policy maker, then please get in touch with us at [email protected]. Further details can be found on our blog home page: http://www.bsgsigcarehomesblog.co.uk/.

Diane Bunn, Associate Professor of Nursing Research, University of East Anglia; Communications Co-lead for BSG Care Homes Research SIG

Laura Brown, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of Manchester; Secretary and Treasurer for BSG Care Homes Research SIG

Christine Brown Wilson, Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University, Belfast; Co-Chair for BSG Care Homes Research SIG