Mission (im)possible: Engaging care homes, staff and residents in research studies
Maria Giné‐Garriga, Marlene Sandlund, Javier Jerez‐Roig, Jo Booth, Dawn A. Skelton
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: With increasing age the risk of institutionalization increases. To address the problem of underrepresentation of care homes and their residents in future research studies, we aimed to explore care home staff members' thoughts on barriers, challenges, facilitators and key aspects of engaging in research studies. METHODS: Five staff members from four care homes in Glasgow and Barcelona were interviewed. Transcription of the interviews was completed verbatim and an inductive thematic analysis was conducted to understand the difficulties and challenges they perceive for engaging in research studies. RESULTS: highlighted three subthemes. Staff members showed interest in engaging in research studies if a clear management support accompanied by a whole team approach was evident. The involvement of the resident's relatives was seen as essential if residents were to be supported to be engaged. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the small sample size, the perspectives of staff members, irrespective of country, provided valuable insights for informing researchers on best approaches to maximize care home and resident engagement in research.