Resident experiences with feeling safe | HQCA Focus

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Continuing Care Homes: Type A

Formerly
Long Term Care

Resident experiences with feeling safe

How residents rated feeling safe, in a 2022-23 survey. (see data definition)

Please note: Site-level results in the 2022-23 FBCC Resident Experience Survey Report are not available because most sites did not meet our public reporting criteria.

What do you think?

  • Why does it matter if a resident feels safe? What aspects of care might be impacted by this element of resident experience?
  • Are there differences between zones? Between mainly rural and urban zones or sites? What factors could account for these differences?

Understanding “resident experiences with feeling safe”

In a survey conducted in 2022-23, the HQCA asked residents living in continuing care homes – type A (formerly long term care):

Do you feel safe here?

Residents could choose “Yes, always / Yes, sometimes / No, hardly ever / No, never”

Safety can be one of the reasons an individual becomes a resident at a care site and families often feel a site can offer greater safety for their loved one than living on their own.

However, residents should also feel safe while living in a long term care site. Abusive behaviour by staff or other residents, unknown visitors, and the physical environment are just a few examples of potential safety issues.

Considerations when viewing the results:

  • There are a number of factors providers and leaders can consider to better understand and improve the safety of the resident. Some questions they could ask before taking action include:
    • What characteristics of their care or environment are residents thinking about when answering this question?
    • Are residents comfortable sharing concerns? If not, how might this impact their safety?
    • How is safety addressed in staff orientation?
    • How can a site help staff understand and make their important role in resident safety a priority?
    • What can leadership, specifically those leaders who might not be consistently visible to front line staff, do to demonstrate their commitment to resident safety?
    • How can resident safety be maintained or improved as sites:
      • Create more home-like environments for their residents?
      • Reduce or eliminate the use of restraints?
      • Reduce the inappropriate use of medications (e.g., antipsychotics)?
      • Increase resident choice and independence?
  • Who should be involved in discussions to improve these results? How could residents and/or family members be engaged to develop solutions? What other collaboration might be required to make improvements in this area?
  • For information about the HQCA’s Facility-based Continuing Care survey, please visit the HQCA website.