Safe places for aging and care? Exploring violence in care for older adults
Join us for the last seminar of the 2021/2022 series.
March 1, 2022 at 2:30 pm
Watch: https://youtu.be/c20Jh45hHAY
Violence is pervasive within long-term care setting, affecting older adults, family carers and paid care workers. Violence can lead to physical and psychological harm, emotional exhaustion, and burnout for paid and unpaid carers. Being regarded as violent, aggressive, or difficult can have a direct impact on older adults’ sense of self, care relationships, and quality of care. Current research on violence and aging lacks systemic understanding of the environments and multi-level influences of violent interactions across long-term care settings. The Safe places for aging and care project involves a multi-jurisdictional comparative case study of violence in home care and long-term care settings in two Canadian provinces. As part of this study, we conducted a document analysis to examine provincial and regional strategies for preventing and addressing violence in home care and residential long-term care in Manitoba and Nova Scotia. In total, we analyzed 51 documents from both provinces (legal documents, provincial policy documents, regional policy documents and reports). This presentation will provide an overview of major policy responses to violence in home care and residential long-term care and critically reflect on how violence and violence prevention is constructed within policy documents. In addition, the presentations will share some preliminary findings from interviews with care workers to explore how policy and practice intersect. The presentation will conclude with recommendations for policy development and outline our plans for continuing research.
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Dr. Rachel Herron is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at Brandon University, a Tier II CRC in Rural and Remote Mental Health, and founding Director of the Centre for Critical Studies of Rural Mental Health. Rachel works with researchers, students and community partners to respond to issues related to rural mental health, aging and care. Her research examines safety in settings of care, social inclusion, the diversity of experiences living with mental health conditions.
