Research Priority Setting in Care Homes -
Research Development Workshop
1st July 2016, Future Inn Hotel, Cardiff
Post event update
Following the research, the research priority setting in care homes work has been published in an open access journal:
Establishing a set of research priorities in care homes for older people in the UK: a modified Delphi consensus study with care home staff.
Shepherd V, Wood F, Hood K. Age Ageing (2017) 46 (2): 284-290.
Background to the workshop
The Centre for Trials Research (CTR) recently conducted a Research Priority Setting in Care Homes study which invited care home staff throughout the UK to act as an ‘expert panel’ to identify the areas where more research is needed for older people living in care homes.
The team used consensus building techniques through a series of rounds to identify a set of the 15 top priorities for future research.
The aim is that sharing the findings with a range of practitioners, researchers, and funding bodies will help to ensure the future research agenda is focused on the areas of greatest need.
All-Wales research workshop
Following on from the study, the CTR and PRIME Centre Wales organised a Research Development Workshop to bring together a wide range of researchers, practitioners, and others throughout Wales to start developing proposals to address the questions that have been identified as priorities during the study. This event was the first of its kind for us, and was designed for those with an interest in this area who wanted to find collaborators to establish research development groups.
The workshop aimed to bring together people from a range of backgrounds, specialities, skills and experience from both health and social care. This was to reflect that the care provided in care homes is unique as it encompasses a range of health conditions, as well as features associated with ageing, such as frailty and cognitive impairment, and incorporates social care as well as health care. Those attending could either ‘pitch’ their idea for a research proposal, or join researchers with similar interests to develop proposals.
Wide range of delegates
Around 50 people attended, including representatives from 4 health boards, a range of Schools and Centres across 4 universities, third sector organisations, care regulators, and a care home team.
Some were experienced researchers, whilst others were newer to research but had invaluable hands on experience working with the care home sector.
All had been provided with a briefing report that added context to the research questions identified as priorities, summarised some of the existing evidence, and relevant guidelines and policies.
The day started with presentations from the study leads (Professor Kerry Hood, Dr Fiona Wood, Victoria Shepherd), which provided information about the work of the Centre for Trials Research and PRIME Centre Wales, set the scene for research in care homes, and the results of the priority setting study.
Delegates who were ‘pitching’ a research idea then presented their proposal to the whole group. Each of them explained:
- the priority being addressed
- the aim of their project
- the initial research design.
A range of research proposals were presented. Two predominant themes emerged:
- delivery of truly person-centred care
- advanced care planning towards the end of life.
