Lets deal with some very basic quantitative information.
The cost per engagement hour was €57.
Some people were in long term care and some short stay, so many of the residents attended more than one event. Numbers fluctuated during the events as expected, but we can say that their were approximately 264 engagements of one hour’s duration.
| Number of events | 12 |
| Number of engagement Hours | 12 |
| Average Number of Residents per event | 17 |
| Average Number of Staff | 5 |
| Average Attendees per Event | 22 |
| Total Attendances | 264 |
| Total Engagement hours | 264 |
| Total Cost of Project | €15,000 |
| Cost per Event | €1,250 |
| Cost per Engagement Hour | €57 |
The Value to the Residents – 100% satisfaction rating
With the resources of time and people available it was not possibel to survey and/or interview all the residents directly. A limited number of surveys, a sample size of 12%, were completed with the help of the care staff.
"Loved the music and dancing"
"Can we have more sessions?"
"All Lovely. More sessions!"
"More of the same – it was good craic"
"I enjoyed everything very much"
The Above is a sample of some of the comments made by the residents after the events.
The surveys indicate that:
- 100% of respondents enjoyed the music and dancing “very much”.
- 83% felt more connected to the people around them (staff and residents) after each session.
- 83% said that the sessions brought back memories, in particular a “special” happy memory.
Overall, 67% reported that the sessions made them feel “happy”, 33% said it made them feel “energetic”, and 17% reported that it made them feel “peaceful”.
What the Numbers can’t tell us
What numbers like cost per engagement and satisfaction ratings cannot tell us is the value of these events to the residents, the staff and the artists involved. Number like these assume that the people in the care setting are isolated individuals, whereas in fact they are connected to each other, to the staff, to their memories, to the institution, to their visitors. Numbers like these are predicated on the assumption that the individual is the significant object of enquiry as opposed to the community of relationships that constitute the care setting. These numbers cannot tell us the value of the shift in the relationships between people and their carers as they sat down together as friends in a community to listen, to sing and to dance; it does not tell us the value to the organisational morale and culture of having live music audible down the corridors and in almost every corner; it does not tell us the value of the human engagement, of hands held, of opportunities to dance, of memories resurrected; it does not tell us the value of seeing an elderly parent smile and laugh and dance; it does not tell us the value to staff of dancing and singing in the workplace; it does not tell us the value of staff and artists chatting in corridors about their work; it does not tell us that the residents would talk with the staff about the songs and the dancers and the memories in the days between events; it does not tell us that cultural rights apply in care homes and hospitals because no community can function based on a single relationship of care.
The number only tells us that this was inexpensive, it generated deep relationships, and it made people feel happy.
Evaluation conducted and compiled by John O’Brien https://johnobrien.org/