Perceptive responses and familiar staff facilitate meaningful engagement of older adults and family/care partners in long-term care home implementation science research during COVID-19

Authors

Marie-Lee Yous, McMaster UniversityFollow
Denise M. Connelly, Western UniversityFollow
Ruthie Zhuang, Western UniversityFollow
Melissa E. Hay, Western UniversityFollow
Anna Garnett, Western UniversityFollow
Lillian Hung, University of British ColumbiaFollow
Nancy Snobelen, WeRPNFollow
Harrison Gao, Western UniversityFollow
Ken Criferg, Western UniversityFollow
Cherie Furlan-Craievich, Vision 74Follow
Shannon Snelgrove, APANS Health Service - Copper TerraceFollow
Melissa Babcock, Vision 74Follow
Jacqueline Ripley, APANS Health Service - Copper TerraceFollow

Abstract

A novel registered practical nurse-led video conferencing approach using PIECES^TM for team-based care planning was developed to engage family/care partners in the care of older adults. The objectives were to: (a) explore the experiences of older adults and family/care partners in collaborating in implementation science research in long-term care (LTC); (b) identify facilitators and barriers to engaging older adults and family/care partners in implementation science research; and (c) share recommendations to support the engagement of older adults and family/care partners in research. A qualitative descriptive design was used. Two older adults and two family/care partners from two Canadian LTC homes were involved in the research. Data, comprised of interviews with older adults and family/care partners, and notes from research team meetings, were analyzed using thematic analysis. Older adults and family/care partners perceived they made valuable contributions to the research project. They expressed beliefs that care delivery required improvements for older adults with responsive behaviours in LTC, which served as motivation to participate in the research project. Facilitating factors included the support of familiar LTC staff for older adults to engage in research activities and understanding the value of PIECES. A barrier to engagement for older adults was research terminology and processes described during team meetings. This research highlighted taken-for-granted factors in a collaborative research endeavour with older adults and family/care partners. One-on-one interaction, follow-up 'reporting' and presence of familiar LTC staff are needed to support meaningful engagement of older adults and family/care partners in research.

Experience Framework

This article is associated with the Innovation & Technology lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework (https://theberylinstitute.org/experience-framework/).

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Recommended Citation

Yous M, Connelly DM, Zhuang R, Hay ME, Garnett A, Hung L, Snobelen N, Gao H, Criferg K, Furlan-Craievich C, Snelgrove S, Babcock M, Ripley J. Perceptive responses and familiar staff facilitate meaningful engagement of older adults and family/care partners in long-term care home implementation science research during COVID-19. Patient Experience Journal. 2023; 10(2):138-147. doi: 10.35680/2372-0247.1790.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.