We hope that we have managed to provide a resource that can be utilised by all to promote engagement in meaningful occupation and everyone viewing and discussing the film content is able to benefit .” managed to produce a set of films that simulate an outside walk and can be used as a tool for communication by relatives , friends , and carers .’ Saoirse and Anya plan to make more films and complete a new series in the future to help those living with the disease to achieve a sense of belonging and to feel less excluded from any community they belong in .
‘ We hope that we have managed to provide a resource that can be utilised by all to promote engagement in meaningful occupation and everyone viewing and discussing the film content is able to benefit .’
While visual stimulation , using photo stills in the form of reminiscence therapy , can improve general cognitive function , virtual reality panoramas can further improve the subjective wellbeing of participants ’ ( Tominari et al 2021 ).
‘ Our videos aim to generate conversation and they can be tailored for individuals by taking a film of their familiar environments to promote reminiscence resources .’
The group reached out to a private occupational therapy business in Kent for some feedback on the videos from an occupational therapy perspective .
The organisation commented : ‘ Well done on the videos . They are such a creative and positive way to connect with people during the pandemic . You have understood how important connecting with others is for a person ’ s wellbeing , both physically and emotionally .
‘ The videos will help to facilitate connection to the outside world for people who are unable to get out and your descriptions of what you are seeing is very orientating .’
Ideally , the group hopes that the films will be used as a talking point with carers or family members , however they recognise that this relies on carer availability , which at the height of the pandemic was limited due to staff sickness .
The project also relied on the provision of technology ; some care homes struggle with access to smart devices and the internet , which has been evidenced in similar studies using iPads in care homes ( Swan et al 2018 ).
The group concludes : ‘ The aim behind our project was to design and implement an intervention to improve the occupational opportunities for a community . We recognised the barriers that people with dementia were facing when living in care homes during the COVID pandemic .
‘ Our project was designed to improve connection to the outside world , even if they were physically unable to do so at that time . We
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Words ANYA MOCKETT , SAOIRSE MCKENNA , occupational therapy students , and SARAH HARVEY , senior lecturer , Canterbury Christ Church University
52 OTnews June 2022