Introduction
As Canada’s population continues to age, the demand for long-term care facilities (LTCFs) grows, presenting unique challenges and opportunities for providing compassionate care within these settings. A recent qualitative study published in BMC Geriatrics examines the perspectives and experiences of patients, family members, and healthcare providers regarding compassion in LTCFs across Canada. This article elaborates on the groundbreaking research that highlights the importance of integrating compassion into long-term care, revealing intricacies and actionable insight into enhancing person-centered care.
Study Overview
DOI: 10.1186/s12877-019-1135-x
Lorraine L. Smith-MacDonald, Lorraine Venturato, Paulette P. Hunter, Sharon Kaasalainen, Tamara Sussman, Lynn McCleary, Genevieve Thompson, Abigail Wickson-Griffiths, and Shane Sinclair of the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary led a participatory action research project that yielded significant findings presented in BMC Geriatrics (BMC Geriatr 19, 128 (2019)). The research involved 117 participants, including residents, family members, healthcare providers, and managers from four LTC sites across four Canadian provinces.
Methodology and Key Findings
Participants engaged in 19 focus groups where their experiences and perspectives on compassion within a palliative approach to long-term care were explored. The data analysis, performed by multiple team members, followed a thematic approach to distill individual concepts into themes that constructed a comprehensive understanding of compassion within LTC.
Two themes emerged from the study:
1. ‘Conceptualizing Compassion in Long-Term Care’, which encompassed multidimensional views aligning with theoretical models.
2. ‘Organizational Compassion: resources and staffing’, highlighting the practical application of compassion within LTC settings and the impact of organizational culture.
Sub-themes under organizational compassion centered on how compassion could bolster staff in their roles, the support for residents and families, intra-staff relationships, and grieving processes. The findings suggest that while compassion forms a critical component of care and relationships in LTC, it is influenced by various personal, professional, and systemic factors.
Implications for Long-Term Care
The insights from this study underscore that compassion is an often overlooked but vital element in fulfilling the promise of person-centered care in LTC environments. The practical exemplifications of compassion highlighted in the study align with earlier literature that advocates for a more humane approach to elderly care, emphasizing personalized care models and the well-being of the care providers themselves.
Challenges in Operationalizing Compassion
Challenges that were noted in the research revolved around resource constraints, understaffing, and a need for systematic support for staff well-being. These barriers create a difficult environment for healthcare providers to consistently offer compassionate care, pointing towards an urgent need for policy and organizational change.
Recommendations and Actionable Strategies
To address the gaps identified in the study, the authors suggest several actionable strategies, including:
1. Increased staffing and support resources to enable healthcare providers to deliver more personalized, compassionate care.
2. Structured training and workshops focused on the development of a compassionate care approach within LTC.
3. The importance of recognizing and providing support for healthcare workers’ grief and emotional health.
Policy Implications and Further Research
The study’s findings bear significant implications for future healthcare policy and the shaping of care standards in LTCFs. Consequently, further research is recommended to understand better the facilitators and barriers to implementing compassionate care and to develop tailored interventions enhancing the quality of care in LTC settings across diverse populations.
Conclusions
In conclusion, compassion holds undeniable value in the provision of care within Canadian LTCFs, with profound implications for patients, families, and healthcare workers. The study by Smith-MacDonald et al. elucidates this, encouraging a shift towards more empathetic and resource-aware practices that could redefine the standards of care in long-term care environments.
References
1. Smith-MacDonald L et al. (2019). Perspectives and experiences of compassion in long-term care facilities within Canada: a qualitative study of patients, family members and health care providers. BMC Geriatr 19, 128. DOI: 10.1186/s12877-019-1135-x.
2. Li J, Porock D. (2014). Resident outcomes of person-centered care in long-term care: a narrative review of interventional research. Int J Nurs Stud. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2014.04.003.
3. Abbott KM, et al. (2018). Delivering person-centered care: important preferences for recipients of long-term services and supports. J Am Med Dir Assoc. DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2017.10.005.
4. Sinclair S, et al. (2016). Compassion: a scoping review of the healthcare literature. BMC Palliative Care. DOI: 10.1186/s12904-016-0080-0.
5. Van Der Cingel M. (2011). Compassion in care: a qualitative study of older people with a chronic disease and nurses. Nurs Ethics. DOI: 10.1177/0969733011403556.
Keywords
1. Compassionate Care Long-Term Facilities
2. Person-centered care in Canada
3. Palliative approach LTC Canada
4. Health Care Providers Compassion Study
5. Long-Term Care Challenges Compassion