JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Meaningful connections in which people feel valued, seen and heard are essential for social health and wellbeing. However, individual, systemic, and structural barriers exist within care homes that exacerbate risks for social isolation in this population. Leveraging digital technology to promote meaningful connections has the potential to affect positive health outcomes, however the evidence base within care home environment is not clear.

Objective:

The aim of this scoping review was to identify how digital technologies are used in long-term care settings to facilitate meaningful connections.

Methods:

Following guidance from the Joanna Briggs Institute and the PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines, four online databases (CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus) were searched in February 2025 to identify digital technologies which have been used in care homes to support the development of meaningful connections. Studies were included if they were published in English, included care home residents, relatives or staff, and directly discussed the application of a digital technology that focused on building meaningful connections. No date limiters were applied. Grey literature was searched through Google Scholar, and forward and backward citation searching was also undertaken. Articles were managed in Covidence and reviewed against inclusion criteria by three independent reviewers. Results were presented using tabular and graphical summaries and a narrative summary was developed to describe how the findings relate to the core objectives of the review.

Results:

Forty-one studies were included in the review. Technologies including robotics, virtual reality (VR), mobile/tablet applications, digital devices, and online programmes have been utilised in care home settings. Factors underpinning the development of meaningful connections include: getting to know the person; increased autonomy and choice; source of enjoyment and fun; facilitates communication; and builds community. Engagement, wellbeing/satisfaction, emotional response, quality of life, agitation, depression, loneliness/social closeness, and psychosocial capacity were the main themes identified from the instruments used to indicate whether meaningful connections were present.

Conclusions:

Digital technologies are becoming increasingly prevalent within the care home sector beyond passive monitoring through medical devices. The application of GenAI technology is currently a gap in the evidence base and needs to be considered in conjunction with care home residents, staff, and communities to ensure future developments meet the social needs of the entire community. Future research needs to consider how new evaluation metrics can be developed that combine digital engagement data with validated measures of social and meaningful connection to assess the person-centred impact of generative AI technologies in care homes.