Residents of Moville care home win national prize for Covid-19 poster

Residents of a Moville care home have won an award for a poster which documents their resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Four residents of Moville Residential Group Home, a HSE-run Disability Services centre, won the  Journal of Research in Nursing poster prize at the annual Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) International Nursing and Midwifery Research and Education Conference.

The win was for their poster submission which documents the residents’ resilience when faced with the detrimental effects of the unprecedented physical restrictions imposed by Covid-19 on mental health and overall wellbeing.

The residents, supported by their staff team received a rapturous welcome on stage as they accepted their award followed, by a standing and emotional ovation from the large gathering in the O’Flanagan Theatre, Dublin.The Annual International Nursing and Midwifery Research and Education Conference is aligned to the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences Strategic Plan 2023-2027. 

The literature in the winning poster describes the effects on mental health and overall wellbeing of the unprecedented physical restrictions imposed by Covid-19.  These limitations impacted travel, reduced the options available for regular daily activities, and restricted access to a variety of physical activities.  As a result, residential services for people with intellectual disabilities encountered considerable difficulties in maintaining opportunities for physical activity.  Consequently, numerous services modified their methods for providing physical activity programmes, involving residents, staff and utilising local amenities within the applicable restrictions.

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Paddy McTeague of Donegal Disability Services said: “It was a wonderful experience for us all and fitting recognition for the residents’ resilience during Covid-19 which was captured in the photographs in their poster.  We are delighted for the residents to have maintained their presence within their local community and would like to take this opportunity to wish them every continued success in the future. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to staff members who support residents in all their endeavours and all community members who have offered their unwavering encouragement and support.” 

 Moville Residential Group Home provides full-time residential care for adults with intellectual disabilities with the aim of maximising residents’ potential for independent living and supporting residents to have their physical, psychological and social needs met in line with their wishes and preferences.