A growing number of UK care homes now host a children’s nursery on site, yet no one has systematically studied how residents with dementia—including those with advanced disease—actually experience these intergenerational encounters. The research matters because early studies and stakeholder reports show mixed results for people with dementia, and they typically exclude residents with severe cognitive decline. Without rigorous evidence, care homes cannot know whether co-located nurseries genuinely improve quality of life or simply create pleasant photo opportunities. The project will use ethnographic observation, interviews, and creative arts activities to capture what happens during interactions, who participates, and what barriers staff face. If successful, the work will produce practical recommendations for care homes and nurseries on how to design and run intergenerational activities that benefit residents across all stages of dementia. The findings could reshape how hundreds of UK care homes approach daily life for people living with dementia, moving beyond anecdote toward evidence-based practice. The project also aims to share results through public exhibitions and practitioner-focused webinars, ensuring the guidance reaches the people who run these facilities.
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Background Care homes (CHs) with a co-located children s nursery are expanding in the UK. Yet, research on intergenerational (IG) interactions between people living with dementia (PLWD) and nursery-age children in these settings is scarce. Early studies and stakeholder consultations reveal mixed outcomes for PLWD. These studies often overlook the diverse needs of people with advanced dementia and rarely consider how broader social and cultural contexts impact IG experiences. Aim To understand the experiences, impacts, and best practices of IG work in CHs with co-located nurseries for people living with all severities of dementia to share best practices and develop recommendations for good practice. Objectives Explore the nature and extent of IG activities between residents living with different degrees of dementia and children in co-located settings, focusing on understanding who is involved, when and how, the nature of activities and interactions, and the physical, social and cultural environment in which they occur. Examine the role of care and nursery staff in facilitating IG interactions and identify barriers, enablers and best practices to implementing IG practices in co-located sites. Investigate the impact of co-located nurseries and associated IG activities on PLWD and other participants, including PLWD who do and do not actively take part. Methods In-depth ethnographic case studies in two sites will explore experiences of living in an IG co-located CH for PLWD, including aspects that work well and aspects that could be improved. This will include: Structured and unstructured in-depth observations of up to 12 PLWD Semi-structured interviews with up to 24 participants including CH and nursery staff, residents, and family members of children and residents Creative approaches (collage and aligned visual arts) for up to 16 participants, including children from pre-school age and residents with advanced dementia to support their participation Analysis of resident care plans, activity schedules, and training materials Data analysis will be ongoing and iterative, using reflexive thematic analysis to identify patterns and themes within the data. Preliminary findings will be shared with participants at two key check-in points during data collection and analysis for feedback. Timelines for delivery 18 months total: Pre-study: ethics, RA recruitment, site preparation, co-design data collection tools M1-2: preparation and set up M3-11: data collection and concurrent analysis M12-15: final data analysis M16-18: final reporting and dissemination Anticipated Impact and Dissemination Co-created celebratory exhibitions (opened to selected public guests) in each care site will feature the creative works of the residents and children produced/selected during the data collection process and quotes from focus groups/interviews. Exhibitions will be shared via an Instagram page and website and will invite responses from members of the public. We will also develop: Practice recommendations on IG for PLWD Journal articles Presentations and webinars at national, regional, and local practitioner-focused events
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