Research, evidenced based practice and maintaining continuous professional development is essential for Allied Health Professionals working in care homes. Whilst there are clear benefits which support our clinical practice and outcomes with the people we work with, it can also be daunting for clinicians who are not immersed in the world of research full-time. I…
Despite the many known challenges that vulnerable older people can face when living in their own homes, moving into long-term residential care is often considered to be a last resort, and care homes are certainly not seen as places where older people are expected to flourish. At My Home Life England (part of City St…
Co-Authors: Leon Geffen and Gabby Kelly. Until recently, there were relatively few long-term care facilities (LTCFs) in low and middle-income countries. But since the turn of the century, there has been a rapid increase and South Africa contained at least 1,150 LTCFs at the start of the pandemic (Mahomedy, 2021). With colleagues from Mexico and…
Lots of people live in care homes – as many as 360,000 people in 2022. The large majority of people living in care homes move in during later stages of their lives. Approximately 82% of people living in a care home are aged 65+ years old and approximately 10% are aged 85+ years old1. People…
An overview of care home provision internationally Worldwide, the number of care homes providing care for older people is increasing as our populations age, becoming frailer and requiring increased support with activities of daily living. In many countries, care homes are non-existent and so the responsibility falls on families. Where care home systems exist, there…
This blog post has been five years in the making. I first attempted to write about my experiences of supporting my nan, Ann, back in 2018. At the time, she had recently fallen and fractured her hip. And, although she had undergone surgery, she was struggling to regain the ability to walk. Prior to her…
There are no shortages of challenges in the care home sector just now, with memories of the pandemic impact fresh and often painful, in addition to staffing issues and financial pressures. However, this comes with great opportunities for taking part in care homes research, as there is now more interest in the sector than ever…
At Nightingale Hammerson, we have been working with multiple researchers over the past few years. Researchers are our ‘critical friends’. They see what we do, how we do it, and ask us why we do what we do. This offers a great opportunity to reflect on our day to day practice and challenge ourselves to…
