The value of resident choice during daily care: do staff and families differ?

Allowing long-term care (LTC) residents to make choices about their daily life activities is a central tenet of resident-centered care. This study examined whether staff and family rated care episodes involving choice differently from care episodes not involving choice. Seventeen nurse aide and 15 family participants were shown paired video vignettes of care interactions. Participants were asked to rate their preferred care vignette using a standardized forced-choice questionnaire. Focus groups were held separately for staff and family members following this rating task to determine reasons for their preferences. Both staff and family rated the vignettes depicting choice as "strongly" preferred to the vignettes without choice. Reasons provided for the preference ratings during the focus group discussions related to resident well-being, sense of control, and respondents' own personal values. These findings have implications for LTC staff training related to resident-centered care to promote choice.