BAM: The Meaningful Activity Method

Realising this poses a major challenge for caregivers. After all, it is not so easy in daily practice to promote residents' autonomy, self-responsibility and social contacts through activity provision. 

Therefore, in 2013, a practice-oriented academic research project at Arteveldehogeschool started that focused on activities in residential care centres, and more specifically investigated meaningful activities. The research aimed to: 

• to 'empower' the socially vulnerable group of residents of a residential care centre fitting into the current vision and philosophy regarding older people and to stimulate them towards higher self-reliance, participation and quality of life through meaningful activities,
• develop a methodology that can be used at both micro level (resident-related objective) and meso level (quality care for the residential care centre) to realise meaningful activities,
• organise training on the theme and the methodology,
• support organisations in implementing this methodology.

During this research project, we worked very closely with residents and care providers. Both were continuously considered as experience experts and experts who could give a good picture of how they wanted to approach meaningful activities in the residential care centre. By constantly working and consulting with them, the social added value of the project increased and the Meaningful Activities Method (BAM) was developed.