Remembering the past, enhancing the present and sharing the future: a qualitative study of the impact of film screenings in care home communities

Abstract

Many care home residents lack opportunities for meaningful activity and social connection, resulting in poor physical and emotional wellbeing. Providing residents with varied activities and social opportunities can improve their quality of life. In this paper, we examine the potential for film to provide a meaningful, social activity. The limited existing research on film in care homes has predominantly examined the use of film clips and materials in stimulating reminiscence for people with dementia. In this paper, we adopt a broader, trans-disciplinary perspective of film, drawing on evidence from Film Studies that shared spectatorship has social and emotional benefits for the viewer. We offer the first qualitative study of care home residents’ social, emotional and embodied engagement with feature-length film and identify the key benefits of film in this setting. We ran social film screenings in two Scottish care homes over six weeks. Underpinned by psycho-cinematic theory, we collected and analysed observational data alongside interviews with care home staff and discussion groups with residents. Our findings identified three ways in which film screenings benefit residents and supports social connection: prompting reminiscence; enhancing residents’ experiences in the present; and creating a shared future and intergenerational connections. The paper offers useful insights into the rich potential for film to enhance the care home community, facilitate social connectivity and promote resident wellbeing.

The Perspective of Nurses and Healthcare Providers on the use of Television Videos with People with Moderate to Severe Dementia

“…The reminiscence method is related to the person-centred care model discourse, and an essential part of this method is to refer to the biography of the person with dementia to stimulate them to recall the past ( Breckenridge et al, 2021 ; Rao et al, 2021 ; Saragih et al, 2022 ). Although the participants did not explicitly mention that they adopted or will adopt the reminiscence method in the implementation of TV videos, their sharing showed that they included or will include reminiscence as a part of their implementation.…”

“…However, they suggested benefits beyond the ones often mentioned in the literature. For example, the literature indicated that TV videos could facilitate self-expression and interaction between people with dementia and healthcare providers ( Bjørnskov et al, 2020 ; Breckenridge et al, 2021 ; Francis et al, 2020 ). Participants talked about these benefits.…”

“…Tappen (1997) and Zgola (1999) suggested that the functions of the person with dementia in a long-term care home environment would not improve by watching TV videos that were mostly unsuitable to the person. However, TV videos have recently been found to facilitate the self-expression of people with dementia and their interactions with healthcare providers (Bjørnskov et al, 2020;Breckenridge et al, 2021;Francis et al, 2020). They were also found to reduce agitation (Francis et al, 2020) and improve the mental health of people with dementia (de Medeiros et al, 2009).…”

Using videos and films with people with major cognitive disorder living in care settings: A scoping review

“…From the literature searches, we learned that videos and films could be used with people with major cognitive disorder in different care settings, mainly in long-term care (Bjørnskov et al, 2020;Breckenridge et al, 2021;de Medeiros et al, 2009;Francis et al, 2020;Hall & Hare, 1997;Heller et al, 2009;Loomer et al, 2020;Lundström et al, 2021;Towsley et al, 2021) but also in assisted living (Towsley et al, 2021). There are different types of videos and films used with people with major cognitive disorder in these care settings, mainly videos (Hall & Hare, 1997;Heller et al, 2009;Loomer et al, 2020;Towsley et al, 2021), films/movies (Bjørnskov et al, 2020;Breckenridge et al, 2021;Francis et al, 2020), TV program videos (de Medeiros et al, 2009) but also virtual reality films (Lundström et al, 2021), virtual natural scenery video (Reynolds et al, 2018). Videos and films can be used for different purposes by people with major cognitive disorder, such as recreation (Lundström et al, 2021) and documentation of end-of-life preferences (Towsley et al, 2021).…”

Cultural adaptation in television technology for older adults with dementia in care settings

“…and cognitive impairment (Breckenridge et al, 2021). Currently, from the literature, TV videos tailored for older adults with dementia are mainly used among English-speaking populations (Bjørnskov et al, 2020;Francis et al, 2020;Breckenridge et al, 2021).…”