Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T07:23:20.189Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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

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.)

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, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Bitzan, J.F., & Kruzich, J.M. (1990). Interpersonal relationships of nursing home residents. The Gerontologist, 30(3), 385–390.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowers, B. (1988). Family perceptions of care in a nursing home. The Gerontologist, 28(3), 361–368.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brody, E.M., Dempsey, N.P., & Pruchno, R.A. (1990). Mental health of sons and daughters of the institutionalized aged. The Gerontologist, 30(2), 212–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chenoweth, B., & Spencer, B. (1986). Dementia: The experience of family caregivers. The Gerontologist, 26(3), 267–272.Google Scholar
Denton, M. (1997). The linkages between informal and formal care of the elderly. Canadian Journal on Aging, 16(1), 30–50.Google Scholar
Duncan, M.T., & Morgan, D. (1994). Sharing the caring: Family caregivers' views of their relationships with nursing home staff. The Gerontologist, 34 2, 235–244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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(4), 297–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edelson, J.S., & Lyons, W.H. (1985). Institutional care of the mentally impaired elderly. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.Google Scholar
Gladstone, J.W. (1995a). The marital perceptions of elderly persons living or having a spouse living in a long-term institution in Canada. The Gerontologist, 35(1), 52–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gladstone, J.W. (1995b). Elderly married persons living in long-term care institutions: A qualitative analysis of feelings. Ageing and Society, 15, 493–513.Google Scholar
Gladstone, J.W., & Wexler, E. (2000). A family perspective of family/staff interaction in long-term care facilities. Geriatric Nursing, 21, 16–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glaser, B.G., & Strauss, A.L., (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine Pub. Co.Google Scholar
Horowitz, A., (1985). Family caregiving to the frail elderly. In Lawton, P. & Maddox, G. (Eds.), Annual review of gerontology and geriatrics vol. 5 (pp. 194–246). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Keating, N.C., Fast, J.E., Connidis, I.A., Penning, M., & Keefe, J., (1997). Bridging policy and research in eldercare. Canadian Journal on Aging, (Suppl.), 22–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lofland, J., & Lofland, L.H., (1984). Analyzing social settings. A guide to qualitative observation and analysis. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.Google Scholar
Maas, M.L., Swanson, E.A., Specht, J., & Reed, D. (1997). Family-staff partnerships in long-term care. Paper presented at the Gerontological Society of America 50th Annual Scientific Meeting, Cincinnati, OH.Google Scholar
Marshall, V.W. (1980). No exit: An interpretive perspective on aging. In Marshall, V.W. (Ed.), Aging in Canada (pp. 51–60) Toronto ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside.Google Scholar
Montgomery, R.J.V. (1983). Staff—family relations and institutional care policies. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 6, 25–37.Google Scholar
Patton, M.Q., (1980). Qualitative evaluation methods. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Pearlin, L.I., (1992). The careers of caregivers. The Gerontologist, 32 5, 647.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pillemer, K., Hegeman, C.R., Albright, B., & Henderson, C. (1998). Building bridges between families and nursing staff: The partners in caregiving program. The Gerontologist, 38(4), 499–503.Google Scholar
Pratt, C.C., Schmall, V.L., Wright, S., & Cleland, M. (1985). Burden and coping strategies of caregivers to Alzheimer's patients. Family Relations, 34, 27–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ross, M.M., Rosenthal, C.J., & Dawson, P.G. (1997). Spousal caregiving in the institutional setting: Task performance. Canadian Journal on Aging, 16(1), 51–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, M.G., (1987). The patient's partner: The spouse in residential care. Health and Social Work, (summer), 206–212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwartz, A.N., & Vogel, M.E. (1990). Nursing home staff and residents' families role expectations. The Gerontologist, 30(1), 49–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shuttlesworth, G.E., Rubin, A., & Duffy, M. (1982). Families versus institutions: Incongruent role expectations in the nursing home. The Gerontologist, 22(2), 200–208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, K.F., & Bengtson, V.L. (1979). Positive consequences of institutionalization: Solidarity between elderly parents and their middle-aged children. The Gerontologist, 19(5), 438–447.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Solomon, R. (1982). Serving families of the institutionalized aged: The four crises. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 5, 83–96.Google Scholar
Stephens, M.A.P., Kinney, J.M., & Ogrocki, P.K. (1991). Stressors and well-being among caregivers to older adults with dementia: The in-home versus nursing home experience. The Gerontologist, 31(2), 217–223.Google Scholar
Troll, L.E. (1983). Grandparents: The family watchdogs. In Brubaker, T. (Ed.), Family relationships in later life (pp. 63–74). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Zarit, S.H., & Whitlatch, C.J. (1992). Institutional placement: Phases of the transition. The Gerontologist, 32(5), 665–672.Google Scholar