Impact evaluation: Project Ciao!

Evaluation of the outcomes of project “Ciao!” implemented in Italian nursing homes

Principal investigator: Elisabetta Notarnicola 

Team UB/Cergas: Andrea Rotolo, Eleonora Perobelli, Simone Manfredi (CeRGAS) 

Sponsor: Fondazione Amplifon 

Duration: January 2022-February 2023 

Abstract: 

Project Ciao! was born during the pandemic and launched by Fondazione Amplifon. It consists of a kit provided to nursing homes to facilitate communications with external stakeholders and share online content that could be used to enhance activities within the facilities and improve residents’ engagement. 

The research project had four main goals:

  • to design an evaluation system to evaluate project outputs and outcomes;

  • to design a project evaluation system that can be replicated and adopted in other similar interventions;

  • to promote the culture of measurement by showing process, organizational and project benefits;

  • to raise awareness of the use of technology in aged care facilities showing its positive effects.

The research project was developed in four stages:  

  1. Analysis of the project CIAO! and identification of the relevant project dimensions that will define the pillars of the evaluation model.  

  2. Literature review and identification of impact measurement models and evaluation of outcomes most consistent with the design characteristics 

  3. Refinement of the evaluation model through shared discussion with project stakeholders and other experts in the field 

  4. Application of the model to the CIAO! project: data processing and evaluation 

The framework developed was translated into a survey with 39 indicators.

The main dimensions of impact measured were:  

GUEST WELL-BEING | PERSONNEL ROUTINE | TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION | NETWORKING and COMMUNITY BUILDING 

Key findings of the research:

  1. Guest well-being. The initiatives have a direct impact on the well-being of the guests:
    a. 40% of the participants improved their emotional state.
    b. 41% of the participants increased their social interactions with  other guests.
     
  2. Personnel routine and technology adoption. The initiatives directly enhance staff creativity:
    a. On average, each facility developed 1.4 new activities thanks to the adoption of CIAO! technology.
     
  3. Networking and community building. The initiatives encourage relationships between facilities and between facilities and local professionals or organizations.
    a. On average, project CIAO! enabled 3 new collaborations per facility.