3878 Scottish care homes’ research involvement and priorities

Abstract Introduction Care home residents and staff have limited, though increasing, opportunities to participate in research. This project aimed to describe motivating and limiting factors for research participation and priorities in Scottish care homes. Methods In a cross-sectional study, a 21-item questionnaire was distributed to Scottish care homes for older people by ENRICH (Enabling Research in Care Homes) Scotland. It included questions on demographics and previous research involvement, with multiple choice and free-text response options. Mixed methods analysis was used including non-parametric descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Ethical approval from University of Edinburgh SREG (ref: 2425 SREG 008). Results There were responses from 121 care homes, (28% ‘small’ 60 beds) with ~70% residents with dementia or other neuro-progressive conditions. 40.5% (of 131 responses, multiple responses allowed) had previously been involved in research (19.1% ageing-related, 19.1% dementia-related), 29.8% had chosen not to be involved, 16% reported not being offered opportunities to be involved. Key themes about research participation were that it allows staff/resident perspectives to be heard and can improve care practices. Respondents reported that research participation was decided by family (24.6%), resident (21.9%), manager (20.3%) or others. Important research motivators were altruism: benefits for residents (94 of 631 responses, 14.9%), to help others (13.8%), future generations (12.2%), to find a cure (11.1%) or new treatment (10.1%). Important barriers included workload pressures (82 of 243 responses, 33.7%), time constraints (32.1%), potential for harm (16%) or confidentiality concerns (10.7%). Future research priorities were dementia/neuro-progressive diseases (31 of 124 responses, 25%), staff-related issues (14.5%), activities/quality of life improvements (10.5%), residents’ mental well-being (8.1%) and medications/interventions (6.5%). Conclusion Many care home staff shows that many are keen to be involved in research, but require appropriate support, and the involvement and consideration of multiple stakeholders: staff, researchers, families, residents.