“The MARQUE programme includes a range of techniques to help staff get to know residents’ interests, address their agitation, and improve communication. In the original study, researchers introduced the programme into 10 care homes.

In this study, researchers revisited 6 of the same care homes. They asked staff to look back at action plans they had drawn up two years earlier. The study found that all homes had continued with at least one intervention. Staff members felt their working lives and the culture of the home had improved as a result. Themes that emerged from interviews with staff were: improved communication, more respect for junior colleagues, and an increased willingness to try new strategies. They saw benefits both for themselves and for residents.

However, only one home was still using its full action plan. That may be because members of staff who were trained in MARQUE techniques had left.

Many interventions have been designed to improve dementia care. But long-term assessments are rare. Most studies look at the effects of an intervention within a year. That may not be long enough to embed improvements in a care home’s culture.

This is a small study, but it suggests the MARQUE programme could be rolled out more widely.”

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Funding: This research was co-funded by the NIHR and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The two year follow study was funded by the NIHR ARC North Thames