Abstract:
Organisational culture has been shown to impact on resident outcomes in residential aged care. This is particularly important given the growing number of residents with high palliative care needs. The study described herein examined survey results from a convenience sample of 46 managers, alongside interviews with a purposively selected sample of 23 bereaved family members, in order to explore the perceptions of organisational culture within New Zealand residential aged care (RAC) facilities in one large urban District Health Board. Results of the OCAI instrument completed by managers indicated a preference for a “Clan” and the structured “Hierarchy” culture. Bereaved family interviews emphasised both positive and negative aspects of communication, leadership and teamwork, and relationship with residents. Study results from both managers’ OCAI survey scores and next of kin interviews indicate that while the RAC facilities are culturally oriented towards being resident centred, they may face barriers to adopting these practices.
