Creativity in care homes

This project was launched in December 2022.

It aimed to support care homes to explore creative and sustainable approaches to promoting the wellbeing of people living with dementia by supporting their physical, social, and emotional needs. Troubling behavioral and psychological symptoms occur in approximately 90% of people living with dementia, these can cause significant distress for the person living with dementia and challenges for those caring for them (Ballard et al., 2009). Evidence is growing to suggest that arts-based activities can improve a broad range of outcomes for people living with dementia, including wellbeing, quality of life, cognition and communication; and may reduce harmful BPS (Jones et al., 2020). Creative activities might be a cost-effective method to improve wellbeing for those living with dementia in care homes and to relieve pressure on care providers.

Most projects demonstrated clear, positive impacts for residents. Residents were observed to eat and sleep better, they exhibited less anxiety, were more engaged with their environment, staff and other residents also were generally happier and more relaxed. Staff also benefitted from working in calmer environments and found it easier to engage with residents. Each of the five projects demonstrated that, with only minimal investment, creative activity can improve the daily lives of residents and the wellbeing and job satisfaction of staff.

Given the positive outcomes of this initiative for residents and staff, we believe that the provision of a supportive environment, staff training in creative methods and availability of creative activities for care home residents should be strongly encouraged and promoted at a system level. Such an approach is a holistic one and would ideally involve the engagement of all stakeholders; care home providers, staff, regulators, social care funders, training providers, arts organisations alongside residents and their families. Whilst it is possible for care homes to develop their own projects and activities by drawing on the excellent practice models and resources available online, external support and expertise is needed by care homes, at least initially, to guarantee quality of provision and resident experience.

Download our report to find out more: Creativity in care homes final report