‚ÄúIn four years ENRICH has gone from being a good idea to indispensable for care home research in the UK. The ENRICH toolkit and network  helps to ensure proposed research  is wanted, feasible, and completed in partnership with care homes staff, recruitment targets are met and that the care of older people is improved and not compromised when their care home take part in studies.‚Äù Claire Goodman, Professor Health Care Research, Deputy Director East of England CLAHRC, University of Hertfordshire.

“ENRICH has gone from a standing start four years ago Рwhen some academics were suspicious of it Рto being a useful aid to researchers. For example, it made the study of the prevalence of vision loss in people with dementia possible, assisting with recruitment and liaising closely with the research team to overcome problems.” Steve Iliffe, Emeritus Professor of Primary care for Older People, University College London.

Over the past three years there has been an increased focus from dementia research funders on improving care, particularly in Care and Nursing Homes. A significant growth since the Ministerial Advisory Group for Dementia Research published a report in June 2011 recommending that the government improve consistency of support provided for research outside the NHS, and take steps to address care home residents being under-represented in research. One of the driving forces behind this growth has been the NIHR ENRICH Programme.

Jill Manthorpe, Professor of Social Work, Director of the Social Care Workforce Research Unit, King’s College London  has played a significant role in shaping ENRICH  ‚ÄúIn the four years since ENRICH started there has been growing interest in people living in care homes with dementia. We know more about them and how to support them better. Research has helped to inspire the sector that care can be good, and that residents can be better supported. From a situation where care homes and their residents were often excluded from research to the current time where there is much more going on – dementia research has benefitted hugely and in doing so the care home sector is being treated more professionally by others.‚Äù

The ENRICH Toolkit is just one part of the NIHR support for research engaging residents and care homes. The NIHR ENRICH Research Ready Care Home Network has over 1,000 participants and is catalyst for bring researchers together with care home staff and residents to recruit to studies and improve feasibility. Victoria Elliott, Principle Care Consultant, Orders of St John Care Trust  ‚ÄúToday, we have a much greater awareness of how poorly care home residents are represented in research – and of the prize,  if we can improve on this. Although the pressures on homes have not abated in recent years, care teams have a genuine commitment to support such research wherever possible, recognising the value of participating for themselves, residents and their families. This website and network provides care homes with an opportunity to provide their own perspectives on the challenges and benefits of engaging in research, and thus ensure that it addresses their specific needs‚Äù.