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      Observing a Week in the Life of a Care Home
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Further Reading shared by BESiDE

A selection of links to other sources of information related to the design of care homes.

Further Reading for Designers of Care Environments Further Reading for Providers of Care Environments All

Featured Links

Housing LIN

  • Housing LIN Website
  • Housing and Care for Older People Research Network
  • The Housing and Ageing Alliance

The Housing LIN (Learning and Improving) network work to connect people and share information towards the improvment of care for older adults across the UK.

They do have a particular focus on the extra care model, but also inlcude all other  types of care provision.   

Read more ...
  • knowledge hub
  • extra care housing
  • care of older adults

Joseph Rowntree Foundation

  • Joseph Rowntree Foundation - Care Homes
  • Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation are an organisation which champions social change towards reducing poverty in all its forms.

Read more ...
  • knowledge hub
  • social change
  • care homes

My Home Life

  • My Home Life
  • My Home Life Scotland

My Home Life is a UK-wide initiative to promote quality of life for those living, dying, visiting and working in care homes for older people through relationship-centred and evidence-based practice.

Read more ...
  • care homes

The Care Home Environment Magazine

  • The Care Home Environment
  • The Care Home Environment - Features

The Care Home Environment is a magazine focussed on the design and fitting out of care homes.  It is targeted at care home owners, operators, and staff as well as those involved in the design and construction of care homes.  It features articles discussing design issues as well as general news for the sector and product information.  All content is available free via their website. 

Read more ...
  • design guidance
  • magazine
  • care home design

Recommended Reading

HAPPI - Housing our Older Population Panel for Innovation

  • HAPPI 2009 - The original Report - Housing our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation
  • Video Case Studies of Care Homes
  • The Westminster All Part Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People
  • HAPPI2 - Housing our Ageing Population: Plan for Implementation

The HAPPI report was produced by an independent panel of Experts for the Housing and Communities Agency (UK Government - executive non-departmental public body) in 2009.  The Panel was chaired by Lord Best and it has been followed up by work of the All Party Parliamentary Group  on Housing and Care for Older People (UK Parliament) also chaired by Lord Best.

Read more ...
  • extra care housing
  • Housing for Older Adults

Inclusive Design Hub

  • Scottish Inclusive Design Hub
  • Scottish Inclusive Design Hub Case Studies

This is a new website being developed to contribute to inclusive design knowledge in Scotland. It spotlights a varied blog as well as a series of case studies looking at accessibility features in recent buildings.  They are also building an extensive list of references to useful sources of guidance.  

Read more ...
  • design resources
  • inclusion
  • Resource Hub
  • accessibility

Making Wearables Cherishables.

  • SON, YOU CAN HAVE THIS WATCH WHEN IT STOPS TICKING - Kyle Montague

BESiDE's RA Dr Kyle Montague shares some great thoughts on the value we attach to personal wearable technology.

Read more ...
  • wearables

North Somerset Access Officer Website

  • The Access Officer Website
  • Launch Press release

North Somerset Council host a resource hub site for all things related to physical access.   It provides physical access design guidance for businesses, voluntary groups and professional designers.  

Read more ...
  • Access

Further Items of Interest

AGE UK Book: Improving later life. Understanding the oldest old

  • Improving later life. understanding the oldest old. PDF Book
  • Improving Later Life Book Series

Age UK have become increasingly aware of the importance of the group often called the 'oldest old', those in their mid 80s upwards. They found that not only is there a need for more research on this growing section of society, there is also need for a clear summary of the evidence.

Read more ...

Ageing Brains and Ageing Minds

  • My brain might be 70 years old but who I really am isn't

Dr Siobhan MacAndrew, Abertay University, is making the next cafe science presentation in Dundee.  Looks very interesting , we will be there.

Details:

Dr Siobhan MacAndrew, Abertay University

'My brain might be 70 years old but who I really am isn't'

Read more ...

An Amazing Village Designed Just For People With Dementia

  • Hogewerk
  • GIZMODO An Amazing Village Designed Just For People With Dementia

A great Dutch precedent for the design of care environments. This is a very interesting concept. A care enviroment for people with dementia designed to be like a village.

Read more ...

British Heart Foundation guidance on physical activity in older adults

  • British Heart Foundation guidance on physical activity for older adults

The British Heart Foundation provide health and social care professionals with information, guidance and support to raise the profile of physical activity for older adults and to improve the health, independence and quality of life for all older adults

Read more ...

Conversations between care home staff and people with dementia

  • Conversations between care home staff and people with dementia

Social interaction is crucial to wellbeing (Scrutton & Creighton, 2015) but a series of observational studies over the past 20 years (for example, Burgio et al., 2001, Ward et al., 2008) have demonstrated that many people with dementia living in care homes have very limited opportunities to interact with other people.

Read more ...
  • care homes
  • social interaction
  • wellbeing
  • dementia

Could co-design potentially influence the adoption of wearables?

  • Emmanuel Tsekleves writing in the Guardian

Could co-design potentially influence the adoption of wearables?

Read more ...

Denmark using technology to reduce running costs in care environments

  • Guardian Article

The use of robotic cleaners is just one part of a transformation in care happening in Denmark as described by Richard Orange in his Guardian Article.  The swap from carers to trainers who help older people find ways to look after themselves is a more controversial money saving measure.

Read more ...

Dog ownership in later life, a great way to keep active

  • Dog ownership in later life, a great way to keep active

Research funded by the Chief Scientist's Office and led by BESiDE's Professor Marion McMurdo with colleagues in the Universities of St. Andrews and Newcastle, looked at the link between owning a dog in later life and keeping active.  

Read more ...

Good practice Guide for the design of homes and living spaces for people with dementia and sight loss

  • Thomas Pocklington Trust
  • Summary of Points

The sight loss charity, Thomas Pocklington Trust and the University of Stirling, have created new guidelines for space desgin for the specific population with both Demenita and Sight loss.

These guidlines are based on a rigouous evidence base and have been correlated with industry experts opinions.  

Read more ...

Good practice in the design of homes and living spaces for people with dementia and sight loss - Thomas Pocklington Trust

  • Research Findings - Good practice in the design of homes and living spaces for people with dementia and sight loss

This study, funded and published by the Thomas Pocklington Trust, was carried out at the University of Stirling.  It consists of a literature review of  33 existing studies followed by interviews with 19 residents, 10 care staff and 8 key experts.

Read more ...
  • Housing for Older Adults

Help for those visiting relatives with Dementia

  • Parents and Families
  • Carehome.co.uk Review

As BESiDE had found visiting is an important part of Care Home life; however, it can be difficult for the visitor especially if the resident has dementia.

Rachel Johnstone and Parents and Families.com have produced an encouraging guide to help people who know people with dementia.

Read more ...

Helping interpret physical activity recommendations for older people

  • Interpreting the UK physical activity guidelines for frailer older adults

This informative guide from the British Heart Foundation is designed to inform all involved with helping older people, achieve their potential through physical activity.

Read more ...

How societies can grow old better

  • TED Jared Diamond: How societies can grow old better

The Built Environment and Digital Economy is only one aspect of how a culture can include the ageing population. This is an interesting talk on how different societies deal with ageing.

Read more ...

INNOVATE - Assessing Social Innovation which support active and healthy ageing

  • INNOVAGE Final Conference Videos
  • INNOVAGE project website

This FP7 project which is just coming to an end finished with a final conference presenting the work of the last three years.  They presented developments and assesments of social innovation that have a solid impact on improving the quality of life and well-being of older people.  Videos of all the presentations are available online. 

INNOVAGE Presentations

Read more ...
  • social innovation
  • Ageing
  • lifeling wellbeing

Learning for Care Homes from Alternative Residential Care Settings

  • JRF Report

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation have published a report by Liz Burtney et al. reviewing lessons learned from the delivery of care in residential services for children and young people, residential services and supported housing for people with learning disabilities and hospice care, and applying these to the provision of care for older people.  

Read more ...

My Home Life @Ten Years On

  • Ten Years On (Briefing 2 Febuary 2016)

A briefing on the current Care Home landscape in Scotland and some of the implications for future policy and practice developement along with implications for the Care Home population and care work.

Read more ...
  • Care Homes in Scotland
  • policy
  • practice development
  • Quality of life in Care Homes

Positive Attitudes to Ageing among Older Adults

  • Life-course influences of physical and cognitive function and personality on attitudes to ageing in the LothianBirth Cohort 1936

This Scottish work led by Dr Susan Shenkin uses data from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 to explore attitudes to ageing in a group of healthy, community dwelling older people who have had demographic, physical, cognitive, social and mood parameters already collected.

Read more ...

Reasons for Care home Research

  • ENRICH - Reasons for care home research

There are plenty of challenges to researching in care homes but plenty of rewards as well. For the residents and homes as well as for the researchers.

Read more ...

Scottish Academy call to treat inactivity as seriously as smoking

  • BBC NEWS - Call to treat inactivity as seriously as smoking

Interesting idea - G.P.'s promoting health! The evidence is that there is greater impact if advice comes from a doctor. Simple.

Read more ...
  • Health promotion
  • Health and Social Care

Sharing decision making and listening to your community in renovation projects

  • The experiences of upgrading a large residential and nursing home for older people

An article on the My Home Life website describes the experiences of upgrading a large residential and nursing home for older people.

''Early on we started to look at what we could change, and how. We consulted residents, their families and the wider community, not only about the building, but residential care more broadly''

Read more ...
  • renovation
  • older people
  • community
  • wellbeing

Simple Sock sensor

  • Google Science Fair 2014
  • Business Insider Article

This 15 year old had had great success through Google's Science Fair scheme with his sensor.

The thin film senor mounted on a sock solves a real problem for him and many other carers of people with Alzheimer’s - It provides a reliable alert when the person step out of bed. This provides a sensitive and functional management technique for nighttime wandering

Read more ...

The Future of Residential Care for Older People in Scotland

  • The Future of Residential Care for Older People in Scotland - Full Report
  • Recommendations on The Future of Residential Care for Older People in Scotland

The Scottish Government and COSLA convened a Ministerial Task Force on Residential Care for Older People in Scotland, with a specific objective of examining at a strategic level the key purpose and desired structure of residential care services fit for the aspirations and needs of future generations.

Read more ...

The Most Inactive Older People Make Biggest Health Gains from Very Small Iincreases In Physical Activity

  • Sparling PB,Howard BJ, Dunstan DW, Owen N.British Medical Journal 31 January 2015;350;h100

Research over the last decade has shown how sedentary behaviour (too much sitting) increases the risk of chronic diseases and ill health.  There is now a clear need to reduce prolonged sitting, especially amongst the most inactive people who have most to gain, and for whom modest gains in mobility and muscle strength can lead to increases in physical function and more independence.

Read more ...

Webinars from Dementia Action Alliance

  • Dementia Action Alliance Webinar Schedule
  • Recording of Dementia Friendly Housing and Gardens

Dementia Action Alliance is currently running a free webinar programme centred around Dementia friendly care and design.

Read more ...

Would this help to make care home life more like normal life?

  • The toolkit on COT website
  • Guardian Arcticle

The College of Occupational Therapists have published a tool kit for promoting the following of everyday meaningfull patterns of behaviour in care homes.

Read more ...
  • About Us
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    • Voice of Users
    • Week in the Life
    • Conversation Support
    • Tracing Movement
    • Measuring Physical Activity
    • Co-Design of Wearables
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