Developmental Evaluation of the CHOICE Program: A Relationship-Centred Mealtime Intervention for Long-Term Care
Presented
by
Sarah
Wu
When: Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Where: MC 5479, University of Waterloo
Who: All who are interested are invited to attend
Cost: Free
Mealtimes are an important aspect of quality of life for residents in long-term care (LTC), yet little attention has been directed to improving the quality of relationships between care staff and residents or the physical dining environment. CHOICE is a multi-component intervention to improve relationship-centred care (RCC) and overall mealtime experience for residents.
In this mixed methods developmental evaluation study, we looked to determine a) the effectiveness; b) the acceptability and feasibility; and c) strategies to improve the implementation of the CHOICE program. Data were collected between April-November 2016 included two home areas (46 residents; 25 care staff/home management) within a single LTC home in Ontario. Mealtime Scan (MTS) tool was used to evaluate changes in the physical, social, and RCC dining environment over time, through linear regression analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for in-depth investigation of quantitative results.
Several aspects of the dining environment (e.g., RCC processes, physical environment scores, overall mealtime ambiance) showed statistically significant improvement over time. Interviews revealed in-depth insights into the program and implementation process: i) Knowing the context and culture to meet staff and resident needs; ii) Getting everyone on board, including management; iii) Keeping communication lines open throughout the process; iv) Sharing responsibility and accountability for mealtime goals and challenges; v) Empowering and supporting staff’s creative mealtime initiatives. This developmental evaluation indicates the value of CHOICE and its capacity to improve the mealtime experience. Findings indicate the need for time to tailor program components and increased support from an external facilitator.
RSVP to nar@uwaterloo.ca