Enhancing Meaningful Connection

The Roadmap: A Journey Through Meaningful Connection

Care home leaders (n=25) across Northern Ireland came together to co-produce a practical resource designed to enhance meaningful connections for everyone who lives in, works at, or visits care homes.

‘Enhancing Meaningful Connection’ addresses a vital public health issue, recognising that meaningful relationships and interactions are not only essential to wellbeing, but also a fundamental human right. Upholding these connections should be a central focus for care providers, regulators, and wider society.

The project explored existing opportunities, enablers, and the outcomes of meaningful connections in care settings. The result is the Roadmap for Enhancing Meaningful Connection, a co-created, visually engaging tool grounded in the real experiences of those living and working in care homes. It is designed to guide care teams in intentionally embedding connection into daily practice.

The Roadmap: A Journey Through Meaningful Connection

• The Ticket: ‘Being Present’ Entry to the Roadmap begins with a commitment to presence. Being truly present with residents forms the foundation of meaningful connection.
• The Train: Life in the Care Home The train represents daily life in a care home. It carries residents, relatives, staff, and integrates the wider community, symbolising the interconnected environment of care.
• The River: Emotional Connection Flowing beneath and across the Roadmap, the River signifies the importance of emotional connection. It highlights the value of forming authentic bonds, sharing feelings, showing empathy, and embracing mutual understanding.
• First Stop: Knowing the Resident This stop underscores the importance of getting to know each resident as a unique individual. Understanding their life story, preferences, and identity is the foundation of person-centred care.
• Second Stop: Opportunities for Connection Represented by a meadow of flowers, this stop symbolises the diverse opportunities available to connect. These may include music, creative arts, nature-based activities, or intergenerational programmes. Equally valuable are the more intimate, everyday moments, such as a therapeutic touch or a shared moment during personal care.
• Third Stop: Why It Matters This stop explores why meaningful connection is vital. It builds trust, helps individuals feel safe, respected, and valued, and contributes to creating a care environment that truly feels like home.
• The Centre: Conversation At the heart of the Roadmap is the word ‘conversation’. Through warm greetings, active listening, thoughtful questions, and shared experiences, conversations become the primary bridge to building deep, meaningful relationships.
• Arrival: The Outcomes as the train arrives at the station, we reflect on the outcomes of enhancing meaningful connection: emotionally safe environments, strong and supportive partnerships, and improved quality of life and wellbeing for residents, staff, and visitors alike.
• The Rainbow: Recording Impact The rainbow symbolises the importance of measuring progress. How do we know we're making a difference? Evidence is found in feedback and compliments from residents, families, and staff; in external evaluations such as RQIA and Healthcare Trust reports; and in governance data, including trends in resident falls, nutrition, medication use, staff sickness, and appraisal outcomes.

Care home leaders recognised that meaningful connection extends far beyond scheduled activities, and lives in the everyday moments of presence and conversation. This Roadmap supports a cultural shift toward more inclusive, person-centred care that celebrates individuality, promotes dignity, and fosters a shared responsibility for meaningful connection at every level of care.