Research

Connecting People is an evidence-informed approach to supporting people to connect with others

Connecting People Research

Connecting People is an evidence-informed approach to supporting people to connect with others.

Social connections are made with neighbours or people living locally; people interested in the same hobby, sport or leisure pursuit; or family or friends with whom the individual may have lost contact. Connecting People supports individuals to develop and use resources from across different networks and communities, and practitioners can help to facilitate this process.

It is a practice model which has been developed and evaluated in two studies funded by the National Institute for Health Research School for Social Care Research in England. Its implementation is now being evaluated in a third.

Connecting People studies

International research

The Connecting People model has been culturally adapted for use in very different social, economic and cultural contexts internationally.

In Sierra Leone, Connecting People was adapted for use by mental health nurses in the wake of the Ebola outbreak. An evaluation of the training provided to the nurses found improvements in their skills in communicating and building relationships with service users, identifying assets and linking to community resources. Further information about this study can be found here.

In Nepal, Connecting People was adapted for use by community-based workers to support people in bonded labour to enhance their social connections by engaging in social activities, building trust with supportive people and drawing upon existing resources in their community. Further information about this study can be found here.

Associated research

Supporting people with mental health problems to develop their social networks is a growing field. Some links to associated research can be found here.