Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T13:26:50.618Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ways That Families Engage with Staff in Long-Term Care Facilities*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

James W. Gladstone ,
Sherry L. Dupuis  and
Evelyn Wexler
James W. Gladstone*
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, McMaster University
Sherry L. Dupuis
Affiliation:
Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program, University of Waterloo
Evelyn Wexler
Affiliation:
School of Health Sciences, Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to: / Les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à : Professor James W. Gladstone, School of Social Work, KTH-319, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M4. ([email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore styles of engagement used by families with staff in long-term care facilities. Data were gathered through personal interviews with 35 family members. Five styles of engagement were identified: positive, negative, peremptory, cautious, and limited. Factors associated with these different styles were also identified. Implications for practice are discussed.

Résumé

Le but de cette étude qualitative était d'analyser les styles d'engagement auxquels les familles ont recours avec le personnel des établissements de soins prolongés. Des données ont été recueillies lors d'entrevues personnelles avec 35 membres de familles. Cinq styles d'engagement ont été dégagés: positif, négatif, péremptoire, prudent et limité. Les facteurs associés à ces divers styles ont aussi été déterminés. Les possibilités de leur mise en pratique font l'objet de discussion.

Keywords

agingfamily–stafflong-term careengagementvieillissementfamille-personnelsoins prolongésengagement
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , Winter/Hiver 2007 , pp. 391 - 402
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

The authors would like to thank the Alzheimer Society of Canada, Grant #00–5, for their generous support for conducting this research.

References

Aneshensel, C.S., Pearlin, L.I., Mullan, J.T., Zarit, S.H., & Whitlatch, C.J. (1995). Profiles in caregiving: The unexpected career. San Diego: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Bauer, M., & Nay, R. (2003). Family and staff partnerships in long-term care: A review of the literature. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 29, 46–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and method. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Bowers, B.J. (1988). Family perceptions of care in a nursing home. Gerontologist, 28, 361–368.Google Scholar
Christensen, K.A., Stephens, M.A., & Townsend, A.L. (1998). Mastery in women's multiple roles and well-being: Adult daughters providing care to impaired parents. Health Psychology, 17, 163–171.Google Scholar
Dearing, R.L., Barrick, C., Dermen, K.H., & Walitzer, K.S. (2005). Indicators of client engagement: Influences on alcohol treatment, satisfaction and outcomes. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 19, 71–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duncan, M.T., & Morgan, D.L. (1984). Sharing the caring: Family caregivers' views of their relationships with nursing home staff. Gerontologist, 34, 235–244.Google Scholar
Dupuis, S.L., & Norris, J.E. (1997). A multidimensional and contextual framework for understanding diverse family members' roles in long-term care facilities. Journal of Aging Studies, 11, 297–325.Google Scholar
Fine, G.A. (1992). Agency, structure, and comparative contexts: Toward a synthetic interactionism. Symbolic Interaction, 15, 87–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiorentine, R., & Hillhouse, M.P. (1999). Drug treatment effectiveness and client-counsel or empathy: Exploring the effects of gender and ethnic congruency. Journal of Drug Issues, 29, 59–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiorentine, R., Nakashima, J., & Anglin, M.D. (1999). Client engagement in drug treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 17, 199–206.Google Scholar
Friedemann, M-L, Montgomery, R.J., Maiberger, B., & Smith, A.A. (1997). Family involvement in the nursing home: Family-oriented practices and staff-family relationships. Research in Nursing Health, 20, 527–537.Google Scholar
Gaugler, J., Leitsch, S.A., Zarit, S.H., & Pearlin, L.I. (2000). Caregiver involvement following institutionalization: Effects of preplacement stress. Research on Aging, 22, 337–359.Google Scholar
Gladstone, J.W., Dupuis, S.L., & Wexler, E. (2006). Changes in family involvement following a relative's move to a long-term care facility. Canadian Journal on Aging, 25, 93–106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gladstone, J.W., & Wexler, E. (2000). A family perspective of family/staff interaction in long-term care facilities. Geriatric Nursing, 21, 16–19.Google Scholar
Gladstone, J.W., & Wexler, E. (2002a). Exploring the relationships between families and staff caring for residents in long-term care facilities: Family members' perspectives. Canadian Journal on Aging, 21, 39–46.Google Scholar
Gladstone, J.W., & Wexler, E. (2002b). The development of relationships between families and staff in long-term care facilities: Nurses' perspectives. Canadian Journal on Aging, 21, 217–228.Google Scholar
Glaser, B.G., & Strauss, A.L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. New York: Aldine.Google Scholar
Gubrium, J.F., & Holstein, J.A. (1997). The new language of qualitative method. New York: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Hertzberg, A., & Ekman, S-L (2000). “We, not them and us?” Views on the relationships and interactions between staff and relatives of older people permanently living in nursing homes. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 31, 614–622.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holstein, J.A., & Gubrium, J.F. (1995). The active interview. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Iwasiw, C., Goldenberg, D., Bol, N., & MacMaster, E. (2003). Resident and family perspectives. The first year in a long-term care facility. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 29, 45–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jack, S., DiCenso, A., & Lohfeld, L. (2002). Opening doors: Factors influencing the establishment of a working relationship between paraprofessional home visitors and at-risk families. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 34, 59–69.Google ScholarPubMed
Jaffe, D.J., Miller, E.M. (1994). Problematising meaning. In Gubrium, J.F., & Sankar, A. (Eds.), Qualitative methods in aging research (pp. 51–64). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Joe, G.W., Simpson, D.D., Greener, J.M., & Rowan-Szal, G.A. (1999). Integrative modeling of client engagement and outcomes during the first 6 months of methadone treatment. Addictive Behaviors, 24, 649–659.Google Scholar
Lee, C.D., & Ayon, C. (2004). Is the client–worker relationship associated with better outcomes in mandated child abuse cases? Research on Social Work Practice, 14, 351–357.Google Scholar
Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Littell, J.H. (2001). Client participation and outcomes of intensive family preservation services. Social Work Research, 25, 103–113.Google Scholar
Littell, J.H., & Tajima, E.A. (2000). A multilevel model of client participation in intensive family preservation services. Social Service Review, 74, 405–435.Google Scholar
Luborsky, M.R. (1994). The identification and analysis of themes and patterns. In Gubrium, J.F., & Shankar, A. (Eds.), Qualitative methods in aging research (pp. 189–210). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Macgowan, M.J. (2003). Increasing engagement in groups: A measurement based approach. Social Work with Groups, 26, 5–27.Google Scholar
Maas, M.L., Reed, D., Park, M., Specht, J.P., Schutte, D., Kelley, L.S., et al. (2004). Outcomes of family involvement in care intervention for caregivers of individuals with dementia. Nursing Research, 53, 76–86.Google Scholar
Mathews, S.H. (1995). Gender and the division of filial responsibility between lone sisters and their brothers. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 50B, S312–S320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mathews, S.H., & Heidorn, J. (1998). Meeting filial responsibilities in brothers-only sibling groups. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 53B, S278–S286.Google Scholar
Montgomery, R.J.V. (1983). Staff–family relations and institutional care policies. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 6, 25–37.Google Scholar
Mobray, C.T., Cohen, E., & Bybee, D. (1993). The challenge of outcome evaluation in homeless services: Engagement as an intermediate outcome measure. Evaluation and Program Planning, 16, 337–346.Google Scholar
Murphy, S.O. (1992). Using multiple forms of family data: Identifying pattern and meaning in sibling–infant relationships. In Gilgun, J.F., Daly, K., & Handel, G. (Eds.), Qualitative methods in family research (pp. 146–171). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Pearlin, L.I., & Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19, 2–21.Google Scholar
Pillemer, K., Hegeman, C.R., Albright, B., & Henderson, C. (1998). Building bridges between families and nursing home staff: The partners in caregiving program. Gerontologist, 38, 499–503.Google Scholar
Port, C.L., Gruber-Baldini, A.L., Burton, L., Baumgarten, M., Hebel, J.R., Zimmerman, S.I., et al. (2001). Resident contact with family and friends following nursing home admission. Gerontologist, 41, 589–596.Google Scholar
Reisinger, H.S., Bush, T., Colom, M.A., Agar, M., & Battjes, R. (2003). Navigation and engagement: How does one measure success? Journal of Drug Issues, 33(4), 777–800.Google Scholar
Ross, M.M., Rosenthal, C.J., & Dawson, P.G. (1997). Spousal caregiving in the institutional setting: Task performance. Canadian Journal on Aging, 16, 51–69.Google Scholar
Ryan, A. (2002). Transitions in care: Family carers' experiences of nursing home placement. Focus, 7, 324–334.Google Scholar
Sandberg, J., Nolan, M.R., & Lundh, U. (2002). Entering a new world: Empathic awareness as the key to positive family/staff relationships in care homes. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 39, 507–515.Google Scholar
Schwartz, A.N., & Vogel, M.E. (1990). Nursing home staff and residents' families role expectations. Gerontologist, 30, 49–53.Google Scholar
Shuttlesworth, G., Rubin, A., & Duffy, M. (1982). Families versus institutions: Incongruent role expectations in the nursing home. Gerontologist, 22, 200–208.Google Scholar
Simpson, D.D., Joe, G.W., Rowan-Szal, G., & Greener, J. (1995). Client engagement and change during drug abuse treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse, 7, 117–134.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spratt, T., & Callan, J. (2004). Parents' views on social work interventions in child welfare cases. British Journal of Social Work, 34, 199–224.Google Scholar
Strauss, A., Corbin, J. (1994). Grounded theory methodology: An overview. In Denzin, N.K., & Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 273–285). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Turner, R.H. (1962). Role-taking: Process versus conformity. In Rose, A.M. (Ed.), Human behavior and social processes: An interactionist approach (pp. 20–40). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Turner, R.H. (1968). Social roles: Sociological aspects. In Sills, D.L. (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social sciences (pp. 552–557). New York: Macmillan and Free Press.Google Scholar
Ward-Griffin, C. (2001). Negotiating care of frail elders: Relationships between community nurses and family caregivers. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 33, 63–81.Google Scholar
Ward-Griffin, C. (2002). Boundaries and connections between formal and informal caregivers. Canadian Journal on Aging, 21, 205–216.Google Scholar
Ward-Griffin, C., Bol, N., Hay, K., & Dashnay, I. (2003). Relationships between families and registered nurses in long-term-care facilities: A critical analysis. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 35, 150–174.Google Scholar
Ward-Griffin, C., & McKeever, P. (2000). Relationships between nurses and family caregivers: Partners in care? Advances in Nursing Science, 22, 89–103.Google Scholar
Whitlatch, C.J., Schur, D., Noelker, L.S., Ejaz, F.K., & Looman, W.J. (2001). The stress process of family caregiving in institutional settings. Gerontologist, 41, 462–473.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yatchmenoff, D.K. (2005). Measuring client engagement from the client's perspective in nonvoluntary child protective services. Research on Social Work Practice, 15, 84–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar