Summary
In May 2018, Boots UK launched a multi-sensory memory box, designed for care home residents living with dementia. The box, and the programme behind it, were the result of a collaboration between the Boots Archive and Professor Victoria Tischler, then Head of Dementia Care at the University of West London.
“We’re delighted to be able to open up our incredible archives as a resource to help understand its therapeutic benefit to those living with dementia.”
Elizabeth Fagan CBE, then Managing Director of Boots
Challenges and opportunities
Established in 1849, Boots is a household name up and down our high streets. The Boots Archive, professionally established in the 1990s, is based at the company’s head office in Nottingham. The Archive contains over 6000 boxes of documents and a further 800 boxes of museum objects that tell the story of the company.
The collection includes business records, adverts, photographs and also pharmacy equipment and products. The archive had primarily been used to support internal enquiries, but by the mid-2010s the service was keen to engage more users. In 2015, Boots secured funding from the Wellcome Trust to re-catalogue its collections and in 2017 it launched its online catalogue to promote academic research and public engagement with the collections.
As a result of this new strategic direction, the Boots Archive began to develop collaborative projects with academics. Working with Professor Tischler was born out of the Boots Archivist, Sophie Clapp, observing the way in which members of the community interacted with the museum items and associated their smell to family memories.
The team approached Professor Tischler to understand if research had already been conducted in this area and whether there was therapeutic value in using the collection in this way. There are an estimated one million people living with dementia in the UK and many carers have reported the difficulties they experience in trying to find recreational activities that are both appropriate and stimulating.
Working with academic colleagues at Nottingham University, where Prof Tischler also held an honorary position, and Boots already had connections, confirmed the link between smells and recollection and ethical approval was obtained from the Nottingham University Medical School Research Ethics Committee for a pilot project. Together these aspects increased the credibility of the idea and meant the business could actively support and promote it.
“One of the reasons why items from the Boots archive are so well-suited to this research is because many of them have strong smells and scents and our sense of smell is closely linked with memory; probably more so than any of our other senses.”
Professor Victoria Tischler
The pilot project, which took place in 2012, was assessed by a student at Nottingham’s Medical School and the archive service continued to support events in which Professor Tischler was involved. These included dementia cafes, where a selection of material was on display for people to interact with. The archive service team also felt more confident to deliver sessions on their own and visited several local care homes with the memory cases created in partnership with the research team.
It was decided to develop six boxes, each representing a stage of life including childhood and parenthood, or more general aspects of life, such as daily routines and Christmas. The contents of each box were not intended to tell a specific story but to trigger recollections from the past and to spark meaningful conversations.
Boots memory box contents. Image courtesy of the Boots Archive.
It was found that a small number of items, typically between six to eight was sufficient. Colleagues from the archive service researched products and scents from the 1930s through to the 1980s. Items were then supported with digitised images from the archive, including adverts and store interiors. The Boots Archive also contains formulations for products it sold, which allowed three scents to be recreated by specialist perfumers.
Archive material was also used at the end of each session and passed around the group. Reproduction images were enlarged and laminated: these included pages from Boots’ Christmas Catalogues from the 1950s and 1960s, advertisements for well-known brands such as Brilliantine and No7, and photographs of stores from the 1950s and 1960s.
Multi-sensory memory box themes
Daily routine
Example items
Sponge, hairbrush, shavers, poster and photos
Olfactory items
Toothpaste, Cremolia soap, talcum powder
Parenthood
Example items
Feeding bottle, feeding bowl, bibs, oral pacifier
Olfactory items
Baby soap, baby lotion, baby powder
Illness
Example items
Chamber pots, thermometer, inhaler, hot water bottle, medicine tins
Olfactory items
Crushed aspirin, vapour rub
Childhood
Example items
Children’s books, dolls, toy trolleys, owl puppet, spinning top, first aid kit, building blocks, leather satchel
Olfactory items
TCP, Germolene, cough mixture, crushed Parma Violets, crushed pear drops
Out on the town
Example items
Hats, scarves, ties, handbag, deodorant bottle, powder compact
Olfactory items
Floral perfumes, brilliantine hair cream
Christmas
Example items
Tissue paper, Christmas mug, soap gift set, decorations, party hooters, bells, gift vouchers, Christmas cards, Boots catalogues, mince pies
Olfactory items
Cloves, cinnamon, candle
Outcomes
The pilot project involved the same group of residents over a six-week period, although not all of them were involved in every session. The repetition seemed to help; by the end some of the residents seemed more comfortable with the format and even began to recognise the cases. Sessions would typically involve about six to eight residents with around three carers, as well as the facilitators.
It was important to think about what might be done with an item – a hat or scarf might be tried-on – and to be aware of potential allergies and skin sensitivities meant that lipsticks and hand-creams were not appropriate. If there was any concern an item would be removed, or its use closely monitored by the facilitators.
“…he was singing, he was happy, he really really enjoyed it.”
Richard Lawrence, speaking of his father Charles’ participation in a session
What was learned from the process?
The Boots Archive team discovered the importance of preparing the space by considering the potential of other smells like air fresheners or lunch. A care home day room serves as an ideal setting as residents were already familiar and comfortable with it. Even with the presence of care home staff, it took time for the residents to get accustomed to the visitors, so patience was required.
Stages of the session, from opening the box to handing around the contents, are all intended to be part of a shared activity. Allowing time between removing each item from the box reduced the sense of the smells competing. Initially, the same box for each visit was used to increase the association with the experience, but theme-appropriate boxes, for example a picnic basket and a shopping basket, have also been used.
The archives service engaged with senior leaders within Boots when the findings were published in a peer-reviewed journal confirming the therapeutic benefits of the project. This use of the archives to support wellbeing during the project changed perceptions of how historical material might be used. It also demonstrated how the team were looking for ways to derive social good from the collections in ways that were directly relevant to the business.
“The memory box project has been an incredibly rewarding one to work on. Helping to improve mood and stimulate conversation between people with dementia and their carers or loved ones has been a wonderful new way to use our collection.”
Sophie Clapp, Boots Archivist
Key advice
The archive service found that not everything in the box needed to be historical – in the same way that a digital image can be used instead of an original print, it was possible to use a modern Christmas decoration to ask about decorations from their childhood.
Giving people time to interact with each object to see their reaction to the item and any responses it might provoke, both verbal and non-verbal, was important. The team also found that participating in handling and smelling the items following the lead of those attending the sessions, and working at their pace, was key to everyone benefitting from the sessions.
Additionally, it was important to consider how participants might interact with the items and include a variety of approaches within each box. Doing this ensured greater inclusivity as not everyone would be comfortable with every method.
How will this work be developed in the future?
The role and use of the Boots Archive to support people living with dementia did change perceptions about the archive within the business. The project attracted particular interest from pharmacy colleagues who not only engaged with the project but also suggested ways by which it could be extended further. The project allowed pharmacists to extend their Dementia Friend training and offered a meaningful way that they could become involved within their community.
Additional funding was secured in 2019 for 1000 new boxes, but this was put on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic. These were identical boxes containing a mixture of items from all six themes. It wasn’t possible to provide original material from the collections at that scale, so the archive service obtained current items from the business such as Botanics Aromatherapy oils, hair accessories, and disposable cameras – as well as asking colleagues to bring personal items no longer needed such as ties/old perfume bottles.
The archive service also had some old packaging re-created, again making use of existing collections in the collections in a new way. This strand of work continues to be developed alongside other collaborations with academic colleagues.
Find out more
Contact The Walgreens Boots Alliance Archive: bootsarchives@boots.co.uk
Relevant resources
The National Archives’ Guide to collaboration for archives and higher education (PDF, 4.8 MB)
Business Archives Council’s Facilitating academic-archivist collaborations in business (PDF, 250 KB)