At the July meeting of the Yee Hong Culture Change coalition, the group put the final touches on an interview and survey guide for staff at the Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric care in Markham.
The group has been working for months on identifying who they would like to target, and how, in order to gather positive stories about what works best at Yee Hong and to build on these strengths to improve dementia care for everyone involved.
Designing for inclusion- and diversity
Yee Hong Centre serves an incredibly diverse resident and staff population. While the majority of staff and residents are of Chinese descent, the group has representatives from numerous South Asian as well as other ethno-linguistic groups. This means that when the CCC decides to collect stories from this broad group we pay special attention to the language that we use.
As a group, the CCC worked to design questions that were not only accessible for persons who speak English as a second language, but also which worked well in translation. The group is still working to decide what aspects of the Discovery process may be completed in the native language of participants, but is already working to ensure that the process is as inclusive and participatory as possible.
Researchers at the Partnerships in Dementia Care (PiDC) Alliance are finding work at Yee Hong tremendously fulfilling.
"We are learning not only how this process works best in general, but also important lessons on the participatory approach between and within distinct ethno-cultural groups. One of the strengths identified already at Yee Hong is the enormous respect for cultural diversity, especially around language and comprehension. Yee Hong CCC members are careful to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate in this process. We are learning a great deal from Culture Change Coalition members which can be applied more broadly outside of the project.--Sacha Geer, Knowledge Translation Specialist for the PiDC Alliance.
If you are a member of the Yee Hong community and would like to join the Yee Hong Culture Change coalition, or if you would like to join the Partnerships in Dementia Care Alliance--contact Sacha Geer at sgeer@uwaterloo.ca.