Valuing the Older Person in the Context of Delivery and Receipt of Home Support

Abstract

Client perspectives of home support (i.e., assistance with daily activities that help to maintain a safe and supportive home) have not been considered in relation to personhood: "a standing or status that is bestowed upon one human being, by others, in the context of relationship and social being." Personhood and positive person work interactions conceptually guided our secondary analysis of data from a generic qualitative study including 82 semi-structured interviews with older adult home support clients in British Columbia, Canada. Findings revealed clients value a "focus on the person," "preservation of autonomy," and interactions characterized by recognition, validation, collaboration, and negotiation. Individuals involved in the delivery of home support services are in a key position to support the personhood of older adult clients.

Factors influencing older people′s experiences of participation in autonomous decisions concerning their daily care in their own homes: a review of the literature

“…Twelve articles (Ek et al, 2011;Liveng, 2011;Breitholtz et al, 2012Breitholtz et al, , 2013aByrne et al, 2012;Doyle, 2012;Holmberg et al, 2012;Swedberg et al, 2012;Witsø et al, 2012;Glasdam et al, 2013;Moe et al, 2013;Hillcoat-Nall etamby, 2014) are included and distributed across the following nationalities: Sweden (5) Norway (2) Denmark (2) Canada (1) Wales (UK) (1) Australia (1). All countries have home care and legislation which respects people 0 s right to self-determination.…”

“I'm Satisfied … But”: Clients' and Families' Contingent Responses About Home Care

“…Perceptions of home support were contingent upon the personalities, attitudes, and training of the worker(s) who delivered care. Clients want to know their workers and want their workers to know them (Aronson, 2004;Byrne et al, 2010). Agencies can support this through providing basic training in care that promotes personhood and by establishing clear guidelines around strategies for respectful communication and positive interpersonal relationships.…”

“…This article is based on a larger study aimed at understanding the key issues in the delivery and receipt of home support services from the perspective of HSWs, elderly clients, and family members (Byrne, Frazee, Sims-Gould, & Martin-Matthews, 2010;Sims-Gould, Byrne, Craven, Martin-Matthews, & Keefe, 2010;Martin-Matthews & Sims-Gould, 2008;Sims-Gould & MartinMatthews, 2010a, 2010b. The qualitative portion of the study consisted of interview data from clients and families who responded to open-ended questions about their home care services.…”

“…Family members or friends involved in the care of an older adult relative (in the last year) who currently or previously received home support services (within the last 2 years) were eligible to participate. Family members or friends were recruited through newspapers, local caregiver support groups, and home care agencies (for additional information about recruitment of clients and family members see Byrne et al, 2010 andMartin-Matthews, 2010b, respectively). We note that there can be difficulties with retrospective accounts in research; however, we chose to include clients and caregivers who were not "currently" receiving services because, in comparison to clients and family members currently receiving services, there was notable similarity in their responses regarding satisfaction.…”

Measuring the patient experience in community mental health services for older people: A study of the Net Promoter Score using the Friends and Family Test in England

“…For example, complaints are legion that mental health provision is poorly integrated with wider physical health and social care services, despite the frailty and multimorbidity common amongst this patient group . At an interpersonal level, it is known that communication with care workers has the potential to either reinforce or compromise an older person's identity and selfhood, especially in the context of cognitive decline, depending on how it is delivered . Indeed, for patients with dementia and their carers, preference studies have indicated that continuity of care is prioritised above other features, supporting the argument that relational aspects of care are crucial to wellbeing in this population.…”