Sound, Environment and Ageing: Bringing the Outside into Care Homes

a two-year project that explores whether nature based acoustic experiences can support the mental wellbeing of older adults experiencing soundscape deprivation in care home residential settings

Highly Participatory
Older people from project partners such as The Forest of Avon Trust, work with the team to record sounds and co-compose soundtracks prior to taking sound into care homes

Immersive Audio Intervention
These soundtracks will provide an immersive audio intervention for care home residents to access external sonic environments

Sharing Outcomes
The project will highlight and capture evidence of the significance and benefits of ‘green’ acoustics to mental wellbeing, via immersive audio technology

“The research will enable a detailed assessment and development of approaches to identifying natural sounds as a tool for enhancing wellbeing in older people in care homes and other settings.”

Prof. Abigail Gardner
University of Gloucestershire