A team of academics from the University of Stirling has received funding to study the success of a digital inclusion programme, rolled out in care homes during the pandemic.

The team will be working alongside the Scottish Government’s Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Programme and the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI).

Led by lecturer and researcher in the field of dementia care, Dr Grant Gibson, the project will evaluate the ‘Connecting Residents in Scotland’s Care Homes’ (CRSCH) initiative, which was launched in November 2020.

The initiative aimed to equip Scottish care homes with digital devices, connectivity, training, and support to tackle social isolation and help residents enjoy the benefits of online access.

Researchers will assess the project’s benefits, its impact on care home residents’ lives and identify any improvements on health and wellbeing.

Commenting on the research, Dr Gibson, who is based in Stirling’s Faculty of Social Sciences, said: “Nowhere have the challenges and consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic been felt more acutely than in care homes, by residents and their staff.

“On top of the increased risks from contracting the virus, the long-term social isolation felt by residents due to the prolonged, continuing social distancing measures, abruptly cut residents off from friends and family, impacting their physical, emotional and cognitive health as well as quality of life and wellbeing.”

Dr Gibson will work alongside University of Stirling colleagues Dr Louise McCabe, also an expert in dementia, and Drs Carolyn Wilson-Nash and Ismini Pavlopoulou, from the University’s Management School.

He continued: “As the restrictions imposed in response to the pandemic lift, it is likely that at least some elements of the switch to greater use of digital platforms to support social interaction among care home residents will become permanent.

“Therefore, there is a clear need to evaluate whether the programme was successful, and to learn the wider lessons regarding the mainstreaming, scaling up and sustainability of this programme to inform wider initiatives supporting digital connectedness and inclusion of care home residents in the future.”

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Scotland has been a testbed in the past, with previous initiatives designed to increase adoption of technology in care homes across the country during the pandemic.

In January last year, digital care firm Person Centred Software aimed to boost connectivity in care homes in the Scottish Highlands through its Mobile Care Monitoring technology, which allowed staff to digitally plan, record and monitor the care of residents.

The system reduced the time it would normally take to physically transcribe care notes as staff can record information at the point of care, while also mitigating the risk of errors.

NHS Highland have also previously implemented a number of automated care functions in several of its care homes, including applications for Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, guardianship checklist, reporting, and health and social care operability.

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