My Home Life & Care England Series: Thrive Actively

Based on their large-scale research ‘Thriving in Residential Care’, My Home Life England is collaborating with Care England to bring you a series of 6 articles spotlighting real stories from older people, families and care teams about how life in a care home is truly transformative for many older people.

Week 2 focuses on ‘Thrive Actively’ and how meaningful care home activity is integral to supporting physical, mental and social wellbeing.

For our ‘Thriving in Residential Care’ research we travelled to care homes across the UK and found an impressive range of activities on offer, including physical activities, mentally stimulating activities, musical entertainment, social and food-based activities, creative activities, cultural activities and activities involving animals and children. Diane was highly appreciative of the activity provision in her home, saying: “The ladies who organise the activities, I think they play a huge role in everything. Because if they weren’t there, we’d be maybe sat in front of the television watching something you don’t really want to watch… they’re worth their weight in gold”. 93-year-old Wally agreed saying, “Instead of being miserable at home and nothing to do, … plenty of things to do here… Occupy my mind.”

The opportunity to go on social outings and make use of outdoor spaces was very important for people’s mental wellbeing. Care home manager Jay described a visit to a botanical garden to see the Christmas lights, and how one person said it was “the best night of their life”. Where shopping in the community was less accessible, a few of the homes had created their own areas in the building with shops and even cinema rooms. These areas enabled people to feel that they were visiting new spaces, even if within the vicinity of the care home. Access to a minibus to transport people to local events, day trips, and appointments was also a great benefit.

We heard stories of older people who had found purpose, identity, citizenship and opportunities to learn through meaningful care home activities. 88-year-old Orion had found purpose through activism, which was an extension of his previous work in animal rights and rescue. He now occupies his time on his laptop engaging with politics, contacting his MP, and sending staff emails about animal protection campaigns. Another gentleman previously worked as a PE instructor and was now doing ‘keep fit’ with the other older people. Kathy was running a tuck shop in her care home as a “proper manager”, supported by the care team to do this.

We observed that well-conceived, person-centred activities and community connections were important for older peoples’ self-expression, confidence, and also provided opportunities to ‘give back’. 90-year-old Paul was a great example of this. Paul used to run the library of a primary school and would talk to the children about different animals. Now living in a care home, he did animal themed commissions for other older people. He had his own laminator in his room and would cut up pictures to create collages. This active citizenship and opportunity to give something to others was really important to him.

We also saw how care homes supported continuity of hobbies. When living at home, some older people found they could no longer do the things they previously enjoyed. But once living in a care home with the right support, people could adapt their interests to their capabilities. This included Irene, aged 82, who had a long career with a fabric company, which was critical to her identity. Now living in a care home, she was knitting scarves for the staff. She also found renewed purpose through laying tables and attending to others at mealtimes.

The challenges identified around activities included people feeling inhibited by health conditions, especially incontinence. Another centred around resourcing, particularly if a home did not have their own transportation. Some older people chose not to engage with communal activities, preferring to pursue personal interests, like Suzanne, who said, “Very nice for them, but it’s not for me. I’ve passed all that. I prefer to sit here with my legs up doing my puzzles”.

Having choice about what they wanted to do gave older people autonomy, and this freedom to decide really mattered. Overall, we found that meaningful, person-centred activities can create a sense of purpose, support people to express their identities, offer opportunities to give back, and help older people living in residential care to continue to feel valued and respected.

Next week we’ll be exploring the impact of inclusive practices across culture, faith, sexuality, and cognitive disability, with incredibly moving stories of people supported to connect with, and express, their identity. At the end of the series we are holding a webinar exploring how all these ‘Thriving’ themes can be embedded into care services. Sign up here.

To read the full report, please click here.