Civility matters: Co-creation of an online toolkit for long-term care home staff

In long-term care (LTC) homes, the number of staff working on a shift is essential to quality care provision; however, it is increasingly apparent that who is on shift is just as important. Quality care is difficult to achieve when staff do not routinely engage with one another in a positive, or civil, manner. Our research, conducted pre-pandemic, revealed the impact of uncivil workplace behaviours on care delivery and staff well-being, an impact that has only been exacerbated by COVID-19. A positive workplace culture requires the cooperation of front-line and leadership staff and access to professional development opportunities that help staff instill and contribute to a collaborative and respectful workplace. Comprised of researchers and union and industry partners, our project team will co-create an online toolkit to support staff to address workplace (in)civility in LTC and promote supportive and collaborative workplace relationships at their worksites.

Specific objectives include: 1) Raising awareness about the nature and impact of workplace incivility in LTC on staff well-being and care delivery; 2) Creating opportunities for staff to engage with practice-based scenarios and resources for addressing workplace (in)civility.

Team members: Saleema Dhalla (SafeCare BC); Jennifer Lyle (SafeCare BC); Leah Laing (UBC); Heather Cooke (UBC); Rhonda Croft (BC Nurses’ Union); Hanif Karim (BC Nurses’ Union); Lisa Kelly (Sienna Senior Living); Cina Oppel (BC Government & Service Employees’ Union); Megan Scott (BC Government & Service Employees’ Union); Georgina Hackett (Hospital Employees’ Union); Anne Bull (Hospital Employees’ Union)