Facilitators and Barriers to Research Participation in Care Homes: Thematic Analysis of Interviews with Researchers, Staff, Residents and Residents’ Families

Following the global health pandemic of COVID-19, a spotlight has been placed on care homes in the UK and the disproportionate impact the virus has had, and continues to have (Hanratty et al., 2020). There is an urgent need to widen our knowledge base about care homes and the inclusion of people living and working in care homes in research studies. This paper presents qualitative findings from a study exploring the facilitators and barriers to research participation in care homes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with residents (n = 12), staff (n = 15), relatives (n = 6) and researchers (n = 8) across three care homes in Scotland between 2014 and 2015. The findings suggest that the key barriers and facilitators to research participation are best captured by three themes: relationships, knowledge about research, and structural challenges. The way these themes are navigated within the care home is expected to shape the willingness and ability of care homes to engage in research. Positive relationships, accessible information about research, and adequate time and space are all likely to increase research presence within care homes. Conversely, poor relationships, alienating research communication, and limited time and space are all likely to result in care homes being unable or unwilling to participate. Overall, this paper demonstrates that care homes face several barriers to research participation, and efforts to improve relationships, raise awareness of the research process and provide flexible solutions for structural challenges are needed. Future research needs to be mindful of these challenges in order to facilitate research relating to COVID-19 and more generally in gerontology and dementia.