Supporting good mental health in care homes
Between November 2022 and March 2024, Age Cymru undertook a series of research projects focusing on supporting good mental health of older adults living in care homes in Wales.
During the pandemic, care home residents were among those most acutely impacted by daily restrictions to their lives. Projects such as Age Cymru’s Tell Me More revealed how much these restrictions had impacted upon the mental health of care residents.
It’s also consistently reported that major life events are a precipitating factor for most psychiatric disorders. Moving to live in a care home is a significant event in any person’s life, bringing them into a new environment with new people, routines and activities. It’s often linked to bereavement too, with the person sometimes losing a caring partner or close friend, as well as their home. These changes can have an immense effect on an individual’s mental health.
Over autumn 2023, Age Cymru ran a project focusing on how care homes can use their transitional process to identify the specific things that give an individual meaning in life, including their relationships, responsibilities, interests and much more, and to explore ways of including these in their care.
The aim of this approach is to support the resident in maintaining the things that they find personally meaningful, thereby minimising the disruption of the transitional process and ensuring good mental health throughout their time in care.
Age Cymru published a resource on this topic in March 2024.
This resource followed on from an earlier report published by Age Cymru in March 2023, which explores the current state of mental health services and support available to older adults living in care homes, as well as the experiences of care home residents with their mental health and accessing support.
Final report - Supporting good mental health of older adults in care homes- March 2023
We'd like to say a huge thank you to all the care home residents, care home staff, clinicians, researchers, professionals and third sector organisations who generously provided us with their time, expertise and insights throughout this research process.
