Raise Your Voice

An in-depth exploration of family and resident
council effectiveness in long-term care

Background: In long-term care (LTC), high care quality and residents’ quality of life are highly dependent on feedback from residents and their families. Pandemic research showed the voices of residents and families are commonly excluded from LTC policy development and decision-making, resulting in problematic policies and practices that can compromise the health and safety of LTC residents and provoking a sense of helplessness among families. One direct avenue for involving residents and families in policy and decision-making is through establishing effective family and resident councils (FRCs). In November 2022, the BC Ministry of Health established legislation focusing on improving collaboration between LTC FRCs and major decision-making partners, and encouraged the creation of independently-run FRCs in LTC homes. Although FRCs are acknowledged to promote positive changes in the quality of life of LTC residents, there is a gap in our understanding of factors facilitating or hindering FRC effectiveness.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore factors contributing to FRC effectiveness.

Methods: A qualitative participatory study was conducted in British Columbia. A series of five focus groups and two interviews (n=17) were conducted with LTC home leaders, residents, families, and LTC advocates were conducted virtually and analyzed using a framework analysis.

Results: Six modifiable (communication, structure, recruitment/engagement, council leadership, culture/attitudes, and resources/supports) and two non-modifiable factors (medical complexity of residents and short lengths of stay) were found to affect council effectiveness. Figure 1 provides a visual depiction of the key study findings.

Project Deliverables: (a) a research paper reporting study finding on contributing factors of FRC effectiveness (under review; see Figure 1 below), (b) a preliminary tool that operationalizes FRC effectiveness (see Resource below), and (c) a short documentary that raises public awareness about FRCs (scheduled for release in May/June 2024). Questions regarding these deliverables should be directed to the study lead (Dr. Farinaz Havaei: farinaz.havaei@ubc.ca).

Preventing Workplace Violence:
An In-depth Investigation

Developing effective strategies to prevent workplace violence (WPV) in healthcare is a research priority locally, nationally, and globally. Compared to employees in other industries, healthcare workers have a four-fold higher rate of exposure to WPV. The healthcare workforce is more likely to experience WPV initiated by patients, particularly in high-risk areas including long term care (LTC), mental health, and emergency department (ED) settings. Although the long-term consequences of WPV for providers, patients, healthcare organizations and society at large have been well-studied, there is a gap in our understanding of the experiences of those involved in WPV immediately before or during (i.e., ‘on the spot’) violent incidents and the warning signs associated with WPV. Thus, the purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of ‘on the spot’ experiences of those directly (victims) or indirectly (witnesses) involved in patient-initiated WPV towards healthcare workers with a view to inform more effective WPV prevention. To gain a more comprehensive understanding, WPV will be studied from multiple perspectives through interviews with healthcare worker victims of workplace violence, witnesses of WPV, and the general public.

Resource: Recommendations for Reducing the Risk and Impact of Workplace Violence

This toolkit contains a series of evidence-based recommendations driven directly by the findings of the multi-site qualitative research study (“Preventing Workplace Violence: An In-depth Investigation”) funded by a 2023 WorkSafe BC Applied Innovation Grant.

Download WPV toolkit

Promoting Healthy Aging

Dr. Heather McKay, a professor in the UBC departments of orthopaedics and family practice and investigator with the Edwin S.H. Leong Healthy Aging Program, will lead the project in collaboration with Dr. Joanie Sims-Gould, clinical associate professor in the Department of Family Practice, Dr. Farinaz Havaei, assistant professor in the School of Nursing (Faculty of Applied Science), and Dr. Dawn Mackey, associate professor at SFU’s Department of Biomedical Physiology & Kinesiology, as well as researchers from UBC’s Active Aging Research Team.

The team will adapt the Choose to Move program, a flexible, scalable community- based program developed by the Active Aging Research Team that was shown to improve physical activity, mobility, social isolation and loneliness in older adults. It is grounded in evidence that physically active older adults have better mobility, and better mental and social health than their inactive peers.

The Long-Term Care Synergy Project

Front-line health care providers aim to provide residents of long-term care (LTC) homes with a safe, secure, and caring environment. With resident complexity, acuity and dementia rates rising in tandem with overcrowding and understaffing, this goal is often challenging. These issues have been magnified amidst a global pandemic which has had a devastating and deadly impact on both residents and front-line care providers. The work demands and environments in many LTC homes places a heavy burden on the psychological health of health-care providers and leaders and has led to high attrition in care home staff. The aim of this project to adapt and evaluate a proven resident-centred model of care (called The Synergy Model) that revolves around robust standardized assessment of resident needs in real-time, allowing health-care providers to better understand and communicate resident needs, and enabling leaders to more effectively allocate limited staffing resources.

Best Pandemic Management Strategies

The long-term care (LTC) sector was the epicenter of COVID-19, accounting for 85% of COVID-19 mortalities in Canada during the first wave of the pandemic. To slow the spread of the virus in this sector, the Public Health Agency of Canada developed a series of pandemic management in the LTC sector. Despite their effectiveness for mitigating the risk of spreading COVID-19, some of the pandemic management strategies had unintended negative consequences for LTC staff, residents, and their families. The purpose of this project was to collaboratively identify best pandemic management strategies for LTC homes in British Columbia with health authorities, caregivers, residents, families, and other partners and collaborators, through three distinct phases. Through a survey distributed to LTC executive leaders, a virtual discussion with LTC care providers and leaders, residents, and families, and a virtual debrief, the project team collaboratively developed key findings and recommendations in seven areas to inform better pandemic management in long-term care in our province.