A "recipe" for culture change? Findings from the THRIVE survey of culture change adopters

Abstract

Purpose of the study: Descriptions of culture change adoption are often complex and varied, creating a challenge for those seeking guidance about which of the many components of culture change to adopt and in what order and combination.

Design and methods: To begin to address this question, members of The Research Initiative Valuing Eldercare (THRIVE) developed and distributed an online survey to 327 known culture change adopters. Of these, 164 (50%) completed the survey. Data were analyzed to identify adopted components, co-occurrence of adopted components, and differences in these across various types of nursing home models (i.e., traditional unit, household, and small house).

Results: Our findings support unique co-occurrence of components across nursing home models. Results also show that homes with more traditional environments have been able to implement certain culture change components without large capital investments required by renovations.

Implications: The adoption patterns suggest that the co-occurrence of components should be considered when pursuing organizational transformations to support culture change.

Keywords: Autonomy and self-efficacy; Consumer-directed care; Institutional care/residential care; Long-term care; Nursing homes; Organizational and institutional issues; Person-centered care.