Caring through social connection in care homes: The SONNET Study

GOLTC Strengthening Responses to Dementia Interest Group webinar

Date: 24th March

Social connection is a core element of human experience, a basic need and a key determinant of health, which is particularly important for care home residents. Supporting social connection is a dementia care practice recommendation and important concept for person-centred care, yet evidence for effective interventions is sparse, partly due to difficulty accurately measuring social connection. The SONNET study sought to develop and test a new robust measure of social connection for care home residents.

The webinar covered:

1. Introduction to the Global Observatory of Long-Term care and the Strengthening Responses to Dementia interest group and welcome (Adelina Comas-Herrera, Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, LSE, UK).
2. Caring through social connection: The SONNET Study, by Andrew Sommerlad (University College London)
3. Adaptation and application of the SONNET Scale, by Jennifer Bethell (University Health Network Toronto)

You can find more information about the SONNET study here: https://www.sonnetstudy.com/publications-presentations