Bientraitance (Good Treatment) Practices within the CHSSN Senior Wellness Initiative

We are pleased to share with you the latest issue of Le Point en santé et services sociaux, vol. 18, No. 1, which features the CHSSN Senior Wellness Initiative on page 20!

EdPoint-SanteServSoc18-1-WEB2 Download

This issue was distributed on Thursday, May 9 to participants at the Colloque Pour le mieux-être des Aînés where Erica Botner, CHSSN’s Program Manager for Seniors presented about the results of a research study conducted with the Centre for Research and Expertise in Social Gerontology on Bientraitance (Good Treatment) Practices within Senior Wellness Centres (SWCs) and the promotion of Active Aging. The goal of the project is to promote active aging in Quebec through the identification of how SWCs contribute to the good treatment of older adults and how these centres might improve their approaches and procedures to contribute to active aging through good treatment.

Using a World Café method (a conversational process where groups of people discuss a topic at several small tables in an informal setting designed to resemble a café-like setting), the research team met with 4 organizations and 163 seniors to ask the following questions. A summary of the answers received is below:

1. What Does it Mean to be treated well as an older person/how would you define being treated well in general?

The responses showed that being treated well was categorized by concepts such as:

Respect: Participants shared that respect is about feeling heard and about not being treated as “old” but receiving age-related respect.
Unrushed attentiveness: Participants spoke about “not being rushed” and the need for patience including the willingness to “walk beside you
Being valued and appreciated: Participants want to know that their “opinions matter”
Careful adaptation and response to actual needs: Participants don’t want people to assume that they need help. We should respect their autonomy, yet “check in on them, follow up with them” and offer services that they actually need (examples shared were transportation and tax services).
An embodied experience: Participants spoke about physical sensations and shared that “being treated well makes you feel good inside” and that they experienced “feelings of fear, isolation, loneliness and have a lump in my stomach when not treated well.”

2. What does being treated well as an older person look like at your SWC

SWC’s are considered to be spaces of good treatment that support active aging when older adults:

Feel valued by receiving personalized approaches to care: Staff check in, make care calls, take a personal interest and show concern as reflected by the following quotes from seniors “Staff always make you feel wanted” “they always check on you if they don’t see you for a few days.”
Experience welcoming and inclusive spaces: The spaces are open to everyone, differences are valued and hospitality is a marker of a welcoming space. For example “SWCs are open and welcoming to everyone” “When we open the door, there is always a smile and we are welcome here. We KNOW we are welcome” “Coffee and tea are provided which feels welcoming” “It’s like going to a friend’s place”
Can participate in a variety of interesting programs. There is an abundance of programming and helpful services, opportunities for continued learning and flexibility and choice. Participants shared that “they do so many activities—it makes you want to wake up in the morning” “We have so many opportunities to learn” “there is not a particular way to do things. We have that flexibility” “There is no pressure to participate.”

3. What does being treated well as you age look like in your community?
Participants spoke about neighbourhoods that

are friendly, safe and planned in such a way to offer multiple activities and services that older adults want and need
are welcoming of all new residents and embrace full cultural diversity with opportunities to share cultural activities and practices
offer multiple sites of belonging via leisure spaces and amenities
have appropriate and affordable housing close to services and accessible infrastructure

They also spoke about age-friendly cities that include services and approaches for prioritizing older adults, health services that are available and accessible, reliable and friendly, and acceptance of and services provided in English.

Next Steps:
The research team will be recruiting participants to join a steering committee who will draft a leading practice guide related to good treatment within the SWI and establish a plan for implementing and evaluating leading practices within each organization.

Share This Article