Resident experiences with sharing concerns | HQCA Focus

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Continuing Care Homes: Type B

Formerly
Designated Supported Living

Resident experiences with sharing concerns

How residents rated their comfort about speaking to those in charge about a problem, 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 understanding resident comfort with sharing concerns matter? What aspects of care might be impacted by this element of resident experience?
  • Are there differences between zones? Between providers? Between mainly rural and urban zones or sites? What factors could account for these differences?
  • How are resident experience results around sharing concerns different than family members’?

Understanding “resident experiences with sharing concerns”

In a survey conducted in 2022-23, the HQCA asked residents living in continuing care homes – type B (formerly designated supportive living):

Would you feel comfortable speaking to the people in charge about a problem? (A problem with the care and services that you receive here)

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

Some residents do not feel comfortable speaking up about concerns related to their care. One reason for this is that some residents are afraid of retribution, and that by sharing concerns, their care experiences might be negatively impacted or even become unsafe.

Considerations when viewing the results:

There are a number of factors providers and leaders can consider to better understand and improve resident comfort in sharing concerns. Before taking action, consider the following:

  • If residents are not comfortable expressing concerns, how might this impact their quality of life or safety?
  • What are some of the reasons why a resident may fear retribution?
  • What is the process to address concerns at the site? How might the process be improved to help residents feel safe or confident to share concerns?
  • How might embracing the key principles of a Just Culture as it related to resident concerns impact this result?
  • How might the presence of a resident and family council impact this result? How could a resident and family council be engaged to better understand this result and help make improvements?
  • By not providing an environment where residents can speak freely, how might this impact the organization’s ability to learn about opportunities for improvement?
  • Which accommodation standard(s) does this question help inform, if any?
  • Which Continuing Care Health Service Standard(s) does this question help inform, if any?
  • 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?
  • A site may only be directly accountable for one type of staff. For example, in continuing care homes – type B (formerly designated supportive living), case management and sometimes nursing care are delivered by Alberta Health Services, while other services like care aides and housekeeping are managed by a housing provider or site operator. How can providers collaborate to improve this result?

For information about the HQCA’s Facility-based Continuing Care survey, please visit the HQCA website.

Alberta Quality Matrix for Health

The Health Quality Council of Alberta uses the Alberta Quality Matrix for Health as a way of organizing information and thinking around the complexity of the healthcare system. This measure can be used as input to assess performance in these dimensions of quality: Acceptability, Appropriateness, and Safety.

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