Guidance Document for Participants of My Home Life Leadership Support Programme who are Completing the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership & Management in Health & Social Care (Adults Residential Management) (Northern Ireland

This piece of work was commissioned by Ulster University, with the approval of the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) in order to enhance benefits and outcomes of the My Home Life Leadership Support Programme through the development of an assessment strategy aligned with key aspects of the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management in Health & Social care (Adults Residential Management) (Northern Ireland).

Guidance Document for participants completing Level 5 Diploma

Co-producing a resource to enhance meaningful connection for people who live in, work in, and visit care home settings Image

Co-producing a resource to enhance meaningful connection for people who live in, work in, and visit care home settings

Meaningful connections, also referred to as meaningful activities and meaningful engagement, are defined as:

“Interpersonal interactions, whether one-off or repeated, that foster feelings of being seen or heard, empathy, or enhanced social belonging; and/or lead to indicators such as reduced loneliness, increased engagement, or improvements in psychosocial outcomes” (Surgeon General's Advisory, 2023).

Over recent years, participants in the Programme have played a leading role in strengthening meaningful connections through quality improvement initiatives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions significantly impacted the health and wellbeing of residents, highlighting the vital importance of maintaining meaningful connection. In response, participants prioritised re-establishing and enhancing these connections as a core aspect of care.

Building on this progress, the Programme has since supported the development and implementation of a Roadmap for ‘Enhancing Meaningful Connection,’ a co-created, visually engaging tool grounded in the real experiences of those living and working in care.

The Roadmap was designed to guide care teams and individuals to intentionally embed meaningful connection into daily practice by recognising:

  • Opportunities that create meaningful connection (e.g. personal care, celebrating resident individuality, reminiscence, music and arts, conversation, etc).
  • Appreciating why this matters to the person (e.g. feeling a sense of belonging, significance or achievement, or knowing someone is fully present and engaged while in their company, etc).
  • Understanding the impact that meaningful connection can have on the person and the culture of the care home setting (reduced loneliness, improved relationships between relatives', staff and residents, enhanced engagement in social activities, etc).
  • Where can evidence of impact be collected (e.g. compliments and feedback, governance data, external reports, etc).

Find out more about the Roadmap.

In collaboration with the Public Health Agency, a task and finish group has led the regional rollout of meaningful connection initiatives across Northern Ireland. Find out more about connection initiatives across Northern Ireland.

DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS ROADMAP