Knowing and being known: the qualities that make a long-term care facility a home

There has been consistent pressure to transform long-term care (LTC) facilities into more homelike settings. The concept of home within institutionalized care-based living environments is not well understood. For this study, a supplementary analysis was conducted to address two questions: (1) What factors contribute to a sense of home for people living and working in rural LTC homes, and (2) What organizational structures enable or impede a rural LTC home’s ability to actualize the factors that help them feel homelike? Findings indicate that the physical environment should prioritize accessibility and personalization; the social environment should prioritize relationships and opportunities for connection; and psychological considerations should prioritize supporting choice, autonomy, and flexibility. Additionally, a sense of home in LTC is dependent upon leadership that empowers staff and enables a flexible and relational approach to care, which results in residents being truly ‘known’ by their care providers.

Authors

• Douziech, Aimee
• University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Health Sciences

• rural long-term care facilities
• empowered staff
• relational care approach
• homelike settings
• homelike environment
• models of care
• knowing the person
• rural community
• rural healthcare settings
• Long-term care facilities -- Sociological aspects
• Long-term care facilities -- Psychological aspects
• Long-term care facilities -- Design and construction
• Long-term care facilities -- Planning
• Rural elderly -- Long-term care
• Older people -- Long-term care
• Place (Philosophy)
• Quality of life
• Home -- Philosophy
• Rural health
• Dissertations, Academic

Identifier

hdl:10133/5929

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/5929