Seminar: Lessons from Culture Box: creative activities for people with dementia in care homes during the pandemic

Abstract

People living with dementia in care homes were severely negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. High rates of mortality, levels of social isolation, loneliness and responsive behaviours increased as all external visiting ceased, including visits from creative practitioners providing enrichment activities. The Culture Box project responded by providing interactive creative activities for use by resident and care staff dyads. Participatory Action Research (PAR) was used to assess the impact of the project. 

Sixty-eight people with dementia and 28 care home staff from across England participated. Almost half of people with dementia reported feeling more socially isolated since the pandemic started. Anxiety, depression, and irritability were common in care home residents. Themes from dialogic interviews indicated that Culture Box activities supported relational care through relationship building and social inclusion e.g., eliciting new information about each other and creating a sense of community, within the care homes and with other homes across England. For staff, the project provided inspiration and support at a time of unprecedented stress. Digital poverty and staff attrition negatively impacted the project. Future studies should investigate the potential of remote and digital delivery of enrichment activities for care homes, including cost effectiveness benefits. Future plans to maximise the impact of the project will be presented. 

Biography

Victoria Tischler is Professor of Behavioural Science, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey. She is a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. She has a PhD (psychology) from the University of Nottingham where she worked for 12 years. She retains honorary positions at the University of Nottingham and University of Exeter Medical Schools. Her research focuses on creativity and mental health and multisensory approaches to promote healthy ageing and innovative dementia care. She is co-executive editor of the journal Arts and Health: an international journal for research, policy and practice. She has worked as a curator in the outsider art field and recently presented a series of radio programmes 'Art from the outside' on BBC3 radio on this topic. 

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