Family-oriented interventions in long-term care residential facilities for older people: A scoping review of the characteristics and outcomes

Nurses' Experiences of Communicating With Families in Municipal Home Health Care

AIM

To illuminate nurses' experiences of communicating with families in home health care.

DESIGN

A qualitative inductive approach.

BACKGROUND

An increasing number of ageing and sick people are being granted home health care. Nurses' duties involve caring for both patients and their families, which includes the important task of meeting and talking with them.

METHODS

Fourteen registered nurses working in home health care in Sweden participated in individual narrative semistructured interviews. The interviews were analysed with content analysis. To make sure all components of the study were clear, the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research checklist was used as a guide.

RESULT

Communication with families was viewed as a crucial action for building rapport to facilitate the involvement and support of families in difficult situations. The nurses highlighted the struggles they sometimes faced in communication when they found it difficult to reach the family. When the communication was supportive for the family, the nurses felt that they were empowering the family members to empower themselves.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the vital role of communication in home health care nursing. Effective communication fosters trust and enables nurses to meet family needs.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION

Effective communication between nurses and families in home health care is crucial from a health care perspective. Building reciprocal relationships fosters trust, enabling nurses to efficiently identify and address family needs and enhancing the quality of care.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution.

Family Involvement Training for Staff and Family Caregivers: Case Report on Program Design and Mixed Methods Evaluation

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the imperative for meaningful family involvement in long-term care, aligning with policy and safety standards while enhancing outcomes for caregivers, residents, and staff. The objectives of this article are as follows: (1) a case study report on implementing a family involvement intervention designed to facilitate the formal and safe engagement of family caregivers in resident care and (2) the pilot evaluation of the intervention. We used Knapp's six-step implementation science model to guide and describe intervention development to provide insight for others planning family involvement projects. We employed sequential mixed methods, including surveys with quantitative and qualitative questions before and after program implementation for providers, and surveys and interviews with family caregivers a year after. We used the Mann-Whitney U test (p < 0.05) to assess differences in health providers' perceptions pre- and post-education. Families and staff perceived that the Family Involvement Program was important for improving the quality of care, residents' quality of life and family/staff relationships. Providers' perceptions of the program's positive impact on residents' quality of life (p = 0.020) and quality of care (p = 0.010), along with their satisfaction with working relationships with families (p = 0.039), improved significantly after the program. Qualitative data confirmed improvements in family-staff relationships. In conclusion, we documented the design of this family involvement initiative to encourage family caregivers and staff to work together in residents' care. Youville's Family Involvement Program gives families and family caregivers an explicit role as partners in long-term care. The mixed methods pilot evaluation documented improvements in staff and family relationships.