This project was delivered by Verbal with support from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Verbal developed a 12-week Shared Reading programme designed to improve mental wellbeing and reduce loneliness for care home residents.
Older adults in Northern Ireland are currently experiencing high rates of poor wellbeing and social isolation (Mental Health Foundation, 2022; NISRA; 2022). For care home residents, feelings of social isolation may be exacerbated during periods of lockdown to protect the health of fellow residents. We aimed to improve wellbeing, reduce social isolation, and reduce the cognitive decline associated with social isolation by delivering an arts based intervention within care homes to encourage group discussions and establish relationships.
Our Shared Reading intervention was delivered in 12 care homes across Northern Ireland. Sessions were delivered by care home staff members, reaching a total of 144 care home residents.
Mental wellbeing improved in 27% of participants after taking part in the programme. Particular areas of improvement include feeling more useful in their daily lives and feeling more optimistic about the future.
We found that the programme helped people to feel more connected to others emotionally, supporting the role of Shared Reading in forging connections with others and promoting empathy through sharing and listening to stories. Improvements in cognitive ability were also observed, suggesting that the programme has the potential to offset the decline in cognitive ability associated with social isolation.
The overall findings indicate that Shared Reading is an accessible method of improving mental wellbeing, forging connections with others, and reducing symptoms of cognitive decline in care home residents
To read the full report, please click here.