PERSPECTIVES OF NURSING HOME RESIDENTS AND STAFF ON BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS TO ACTIVITY ENGAGEMENT

Engaging in meaningful activities has been shown to improve nursing home residents’ quality of life as well as physical and mental health. However, nursing home residents are often found to be inactive and lacking meaningful engagement. Thus, in order to promote optimal engagement, it is vital to first understand the current practice of how residents are engaged in meaningful activities. As an initial step towards examining this topic, this study examined barriers and facilitators to engaging residents. A qualitative study was conducted in three purposively selected nursing homes (e.g., geographic location, staffing hours), which included one-on-one interviews, field notes, and facility observations. Nursing home staff (n=12) and resident (n=15) interviews elicited perspectives on activity engagement within the facility. Fourteen days of observations, spanning 4–5 hours, were completed in each facility to understand the daily routines of the staff and residents. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze the transcripts for major themes and sub-themes. Finally, triangulation of data sources was used to confirm themes that arose. Commonly identified barriers to engagement by staff members included time constraints and the cognitive status of residents. Barriers identified by the residents included limited opportunities to participate in activities. Facilitators that were identified by both staff and residents included the culture of the facility, promoting one-on-one patient-staff interactions, and integrating family members to better understand residents’ activity preferences. By identifying barriers and facilitators to engaging nursing home residents, it can inform both staff and residents on how engagement can be improved.