UHI Projects

We have resumed a research collaboration with the University of Highlands and Islands from May – October 2024 working to enhance the wellbeing and daily lives of our residents. Our first collaboration in 2023 looked at reminiscence and storytelling to support residents to share memories and explore things of interest to them using our interactive digital table. This is available for families to use with residents. In 2024, we have purchased a second interactive table and two Virtual Reality (VR) headsets and bespoke content, to explore the following:

1. the benefits of using technology to make new memories. In the quiet room we plan to set up the interactive table and virtual reality and do travel days, i.e. one day have a visit to the beach, a visit to the jungle.
2. the benefits of using technology to revisit old memories. We talk with residents about their favourite places or activities and visit them digitally.

As well as video footage around Scotland and many locations around the world, we hope to have bespoke footage around the gardens of Isle View to build a sense of place, including key things residents have told us about our outdoor space such as the friendly red hen, local wildlife/birds etc.

Evidence shows that individualising technology can be highly beneficial to care home residents, including those with dementia. Providing imagery of local areas where residents have lived or visited in Scotland can greatly enhance their ability to connect with both their past and the present community, bridging a gap between memory, the care home location, and external environments. This can inspire life story work and reminiscence therapy, which have been shown to boost wellbeing for residents. Research is also aimed at embedding this technology within care home practice for long-term use.

As outcomes of this second project, we now have:

• a scrapbook for each participant who joined the study: these can be browsed on paper or digital form;
• an enhanced catalog of the VR videos so it’s easier for residents to pick what to watch;
• better awareness from families about the digital capabilities in the Home. For example, sending pictures to view on the big screen.

Activities in the Home

There is a Story Map where we add pins on a map for relevant places for the residents and staff. Each pin has a picture of the person it’s relevant for, some text and can also have pictures added. This leads to discussions both when we enter new stories and when we browse the map together.

We also have a digital folder for each resident, where we save bookmarks of relevant music / videos / pictures. The music/videos are used by our social carers when interacting with residents, and the pictures are helpful for family members to show on a bigger screen. These folders are also available on regular tablets (we have three of these) for occasions where the resident prefers looking from their laps, or when the interactive tables are not available.

Connecting with Friends and Family

We can now arrange video calls using the interactive table, which means the people who are not at Isle View appear on the big screen. This helps residents to see their loved ones better. These currently rely on one family member/friend being present at the Home: we can show you how to use the equipment first and then you can book times yourself.

We are also offering to share the digital folders with nominated family members, so it’s easy to add pictures and videos from afar. These can then be watched with the resident when convenient.