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Culture Box was a creative project that responded to deprivation and distress experienced by those with dementia in care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote and digital creative activities were designed and delivered as 'Culture Boxes' to care homes, aiming to alleviate social isolation and loneliness for people with dementia. Eighty-eight people with dementia and 33 care staff from 33 care homes across England were recruited to the study, with 68 people with dementia and 28 staff completing the study 12 months later. Participatory Action Research combining mixed methods was used to evaluate the project. Baseline and follow-up surveys and dialogic interviews at 3 time points during the study collected quantitative and qualitative data and were analysed descriptively and via inductive thematic analysis respectively. Qualitative findings indicated that the project activities facilitated relational care through creative experiences characterised by sharing, building relationships, and developing a sense of community. Social health was promoted via participation in social activities and fostering independence. Future studies should further explore the utility of creative practices to develop relational care, to support care staff, and to maximise wellbeing benefits for those living with dementia., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: To describe the characteristics of homeless children and families seen by the mental health outreach service (MHOS), to evaluate the impact of this service on the short term psychosocial functioning of children and parents, and to establish perceptions of, and satisfaction with, the service., Methods: Twenty seven children from 23 families who were in receipt of the MHOS and 27 children from 23 families residing in other hostels where no such service was available were studied. The MHOS was delivered by a clinical nurse specialist with expertise in child mental health, who offered the following interventions: assessment and brief treatment of mental health disorders in children; liaison with agencies; and training of homeless centre staff., Results: Children in the experimental group had a significantly higher decrease in Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) total scores. Having received the intervention was the strongest predictor of improvement in SDQ total scores. There was no significant impact on parental mental health (General Health Questionnaire) scores. Homeless families and staff expressed high satisfaction with the MHOS., Conclusion: This MHOS for homeless families is an innovative intervention which meets the complex and multiple needs of a vulnerable population unable to access mainstream mental health services. The primary objective of the service was to improve child mental health problems; however, the service developed in a responsive way by meeting social and practical needs of families in addition to its clinical role.