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Exploring the Relationships Between Families and Staff Caring for Residents in Long-Term Care Facilities: Family Members' Perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

James Gladstone  and
Evelyn Wexler
James Gladstone
Affiliation:
McMaster University
Evelyn Wexler
Affiliation:
Doctoral Candidate, University of Toronto
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Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn more about the relationships that families develop with staff who work in the facilities in which their relatives live. Data were collected through participant observation in two long-term care facilities and through personal interviews with 61 family members. Five types of relationships emerged from the data, including relationships that were “collegial,” “professional,” “friendship,” “distant,” and “tense”. Several factors appeared to be associated with positive relationships developed between families and staff, including contact with purpose, shared experiences, and issues of trust. Families also reported a number of benefits from developing positive relationships with staff.

Résumé

Cette étude qualitative vise à cerner d'avantage les liens développés par les familles avec le personnel qui travaille dans les établissements où vivent leurs parents. Ces données reposent sur les observations de bénéficiaires de deux établissements de soin de longue durée et sur des entrevues auprès de 61 membres de leur famille. Elles font ressortir cinq types de relations, soit des relations «égalitaires», «professionnelles», «amicales», «distantes» et «tendues». Divers facteurs semblent associés aux relations positives développées entre les familles et le personnel, notamment les liens reliés au but visé, les expériences partagées et les questions de confiance. Les familles ont aussi soulevé un certain nombre de bénéfices reliés au développement de relations positives avec le personnel.

Keywords

Family-StaffRelationshipsLong-Term Care
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , Spring/Printemps 2002 , pp. 39 - 46
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2002

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