Abstract
Andrea’s mother just died. Feeling that Petal, her mother’s care aide, will understand her grief, Andrea asks, “Do you think she knew I was here? I told her she’s a good mother. Did she hear me?” Petal clasps Andrea’s hand, nods, but hesitates to say more. She worries about being disciplined for exceeding her scope of practice. Meanwhile in the dining room, resident Kate reminds aide Bonnie not to give fellow-resident Nancy milk, which makes her sick. These collaborative-care examples occur in settings that are simultaneously residences, workplaces, and second homes for informal caregivers—within highly-regulated, cost-containing contexts. Nonetheless, regulators expect residents’ care to be person-centred and experientially rich. Therefore, getting staff, informal caregivers, and residents to collaborate can be challenging. Although studied in hospitals, little is known about collaborative care among stakeholders in nursing homes. Our co-created ethnography aims to illustrate and mirror this collaboration. In our study, we reflect on stories from our observations as family members from diverse disciplines. We will also examine power in collaborative care. Our narrative analysis draws from theories of emotional labour (Hochschild), critical consciousness (Friere), critical disability studies (Oliver), person-centred/relational care (Kitwood), and interprofessional collaboration (Clark). Our work deepens understanding of collaborative care and can spark audience discussion about how long-term-care policies and practices might change to increase collaboration. This, in turn, could increase the valuing of emotional labour, help staff and informal caregivers flow through turbulence, enhance community among residents, improve relational care and residents’ quality of life.
Presenters
Margaret OldfieldIndependent Researcher, Social Scientist, Disability Scholar Charlotte Lee
Associate Professor, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University Lori Schindel Martin
Professor, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Faculty of Community Services, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Ontario, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Social and Cultural Perspectives on Aging
KEYWORDS
Collaboration, Ethnography, Narratives, Nursing homes, Person-centred/relational care, Resident/informal caregiver/staff partnerships
