Sharon Kaasalainen
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 208223 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Sharon Kaasalainen |
| NOMBRES | Sharon |
| APELLIDO | Kaasalainen |
| FIRMA | KAASALAINEN S |
| AFILIACIONES | McMaster University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2175-6037 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 15 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 27 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 15 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2010 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2025 |
| ÍNDICE H | 3 |
The Development and Preliminary Evaluation of the “SPA‐LTC Voices” Video Series as a Means of Articulating a Palliative Approach in Long‐Term Care Settings
Palliative care has earned its place as a respected approach to medicine that focuses on quality of life, symptom management, a team approach, and family involvement, typically following the diagnosis of a life‐limiting illness. To improve health equity, it is important to encourage the adaptation of palliative care practice and philosophy beyond hospices and within a range of care settings. To support further adaptation in long‐term care, our re…
Assessing the feasibility of an integrated collection of education modules for fall and fracture prevention (iCare) for healthcare providers in long term care
Falls and hip fractures are a major health concern among older adults in long term care (LTC) with almost 50% of residents experiencing a fall annually. Hip fractures are one of the most important and frequent fall-related injuries in LTC. There is moderate to strong certainty evidence that multifactorial interventions may reduce the risk of falls and fractures; however, there is little evidence to support its implementation. The purpose of this …
Patient and public involvement in international research
BACKGROUND: Patient and public involvement (PPI) is a critical priority in research, policy, academia and advocacy organizations. PPI in dementia research is gaining momentum. However, these efforts are missing in international projects aimed at those living with advanced dementia in long-term care (LTC) homes. Additional complexities can arise in enacting PPI within the context of integration of a palliative approach to care and experiences arou…
Informal care-givers' attitudes towards medical assistance in dying for persons with dementia
Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is legal in Canada but cannot be accessed through an advance request. Some data suggest that informal care-givers of persons with dementia support the legalisation of advance requests for MAID. Opponents argue that care-givers' support is due to society's failure to address their well-documented burden and unmet needs. To our knowledge, this assumption has never been tested. To fill this knowledge gap, we conduc…
Delivering person-centred palliative care in long-term care settings
Reflecting on sustained calls for patient-centredness and culture change in long-term care, we evaluated the relative importance of personal and organisational predictors of palliative care, hypothesising the former as weaker predictors than the latter. Health-care employees (N = 184) from four Canadian long-term care homes completed a survey of person-centred care, self-efficacy, employee wellbeing and occupational characteristics. Using backwar…
What are effective strategies to respond to the psychological impacts of working on the frontlines of a public health emergency
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the healthcare and public health sectors. The impact of working on the frontlines as a healthcare or public health professional has been well documented. Healthcare organizations must support the psychological and mental health of those responding to future public health emergencies. Objective: This systematic review aims to identify effective interventions to support healthcare workers' mental heal…
The impact of Neighbourhood Team Development on resident quality of life in long-term care
Long-term care (LTC) residents often experience poor quality of life (QOL). Culture change has been proposed as an approach to improve resident centredness in care, thereby aiming to enhance residents' QOL. This article reports on one of the findings of the implementation of an organisational culture change approach, Neighbourhood Team Development (NTD). A retrospective cohort design was used to explore resident QOL scores. The sample included 23…
Mind the gap
The average expected lifespan in Canadian long-term care (LTC) homes is now less than two years post-admission, making LTC a palliative care setting. As little is known about the readiness of LTC staff in Canada to embrace a palliative care mandate, the main objective of this study was to assess qualities relevant to palliative care, including personal emotional wellbeing, palliative care self-efficacy and person-centred practices ( e.g. knowing …
Who would want to die like that?” Perspectives on dying alone in a long-term care setting
The discourse of dying alone is negatively weighted and models of a good death identify not dying alone as a key outcome. Understanding why dying alone is viewed negatively and its effects on care is a priority. In separate focus groups with long-term care residents, family caregivers, and staff, we identified evidence for four different perspectives on the importance of presence at the time of death. However, while each individual had their own …
Quebec physicians’ perspectives on medical aid in dying for incompetent patients with dementia
A qualitative study of nursing assistants' awareness of person-centred approaches to dementia care
Recently, the number of education programmes addressing person-centred approaches to long-term residential dementia care has increased, and nursing assistants (NAs) are often the target audience. The effectiveness of employee education programmes is actively debated, and our objective is to contribute to this discussion by exploring the knowledge NAs acquire through practice. We examined approaches to person-centred care generated during a series…
Assessment of Rigour in Published Nursing Intervention Studies that Use Observational Methods
Unstructured observation involving “going into the field” to describe and analyze what is seen and heard, may be an underutilized method in nursing research. The role of the observer, the nature of the observations, data sources, systematic recording and analysis of observations, appropriate analysis of the data, and corroboration of findings are important considerations when ensuring rigour in observational methods. However, the description of o…
Training and Sustaining
Volunteer provision of spiritual care in an Ontario, Canada, long-term care home was the focus of a case study regarding resident spiritual care needs in a municipal environment that does not fund professional chaplains. Scope of practice issues, spiritual care skills in long-term care, and diversity sensitivity were identified as key areas for volunteer education. Volunteer training modules were designed using Theological Reflection as the theor…
The Personhood in Dementia Questionnaire (PDQ)
Creating Bridges Between Researchers and Long-Term Care Homes to Promote Quality of Life for Residents
Improving the quality of life for long-term care (LTC) residents is of vital importance. Researchers need to involve LTC staff in planning and implementing interventions to maximize the likelihood of success. The purposes of this study were to (a) identify barriers and facilitators of LTC homes' readiness to implement evidence-based interventions, and (b) develop strategies to facilitate their implementation. A mixed methods design was used, prim…
The Personhood in Dementia Questionnaire (PDQ)
A qualitative study of nursing assistants' awareness of person-centred approaches to dementia care
Recently, the number of education programmes addressing person-centred approaches to long-term residential dementia care has increased, and nursing assistants (NAs) are often the target audience. The effectiveness of employee education programmes is actively debated, and our objective is to contribute to this discussion by exploring the knowledge NAs acquire through practice. We examined approaches to person-centred care generated during a series…
Creating Bridges Between Researchers and Long-Term Care Homes to Promote Quality of Life for Residents
Improving the quality of life for long-term care (LTC) residents is of vital importance. Researchers need to involve LTC staff in planning and implementing interventions to maximize the likelihood of success. The purposes of this study were to (a) identify barriers and facilitators of LTC homes' readiness to implement evidence-based interventions, and (b) develop strategies to facilitate their implementation. A mixed methods design was used, prim…
Who would want to die like that?” Perspectives on dying alone in a long-term care setting
The discourse of dying alone is negatively weighted and models of a good death identify not dying alone as a key outcome. Understanding why dying alone is viewed negatively and its effects on care is a priority. In separate focus groups with long-term care residents, family caregivers, and staff, we identified evidence for four different perspectives on the importance of presence at the time of death. However, while each individual had their own …
Mind the gap
The average expected lifespan in Canadian long-term care (LTC) homes is now less than two years post-admission, making LTC a palliative care setting. As little is known about the readiness of LTC staff in Canada to embrace a palliative care mandate, the main objective of this study was to assess qualities relevant to palliative care, including personal emotional wellbeing, palliative care self-efficacy and person-centred practices ( e.g. knowing …
Quebec physicians’ perspectives on medical aid in dying for incompetent patients with dementia
Creating Bridges Between Researchers and Long-Term Care Homes to Promote Quality of Life for Residents
Improving the quality of life for long-term care (LTC) residents is of vital importance. Researchers need to involve LTC staff in planning and implementing interventions to maximize the likelihood of success. The purposes of this study were to (a) identify barriers and facilitators of LTC homes' readiness to implement evidence-based interventions, and (b) develop strategies to facilitate their implementation. A mixed methods design was used, prim…
Training and Sustaining
Volunteer provision of spiritual care in an Ontario, Canada, long-term care home was the focus of a case study regarding resident spiritual care needs in a municipal environment that does not fund professional chaplains. Scope of practice issues, spiritual care skills in long-term care, and diversity sensitivity were identified as key areas for volunteer education. Volunteer training modules were designed using Theological Reflection as the theor…
The Personhood in Dementia Questionnaire (PDQ)
Assessment of Rigour in Published Nursing Intervention Studies that Use Observational Methods
Unstructured observation involving “going into the field” to describe and analyze what is seen and heard, may be an underutilized method in nursing research. The role of the observer, the nature of the observations, data sources, systematic recording and analysis of observations, appropriate analysis of the data, and corroboration of findings are important considerations when ensuring rigour in observational methods. However, the description of o…
A qualitative study of nursing assistants' awareness of person-centred approaches to dementia care
Recently, the number of education programmes addressing person-centred approaches to long-term residential dementia care has increased, and nursing assistants (NAs) are often the target audience. The effectiveness of employee education programmes is actively debated, and our objective is to contribute to this discussion by exploring the knowledge NAs acquire through practice. We examined approaches to person-centred care generated during a series…
Who would want to die like that?” Perspectives on dying alone in a long-term care setting
The discourse of dying alone is negatively weighted and models of a good death identify not dying alone as a key outcome. Understanding why dying alone is viewed negatively and its effects on care is a priority. In separate focus groups with long-term care residents, family caregivers, and staff, we identified evidence for four different perspectives on the importance of presence at the time of death. However, while each individual had their own …
Quebec physicians’ perspectives on medical aid in dying for incompetent patients with dementia
Mind the gap
The average expected lifespan in Canadian long-term care (LTC) homes is now less than two years post-admission, making LTC a palliative care setting. As little is known about the readiness of LTC staff in Canada to embrace a palliative care mandate, the main objective of this study was to assess qualities relevant to palliative care, including personal emotional wellbeing, palliative care self-efficacy and person-centred practices ( e.g. knowing …
What are effective strategies to respond to the psychological impacts of working on the frontlines of a public health emergency
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the healthcare and public health sectors. The impact of working on the frontlines as a healthcare or public health professional has been well documented. Healthcare organizations must support the psychological and mental health of those responding to future public health emergencies. Objective: This systematic review aims to identify effective interventions to support healthcare workers' mental heal…
The impact of Neighbourhood Team Development on resident quality of life in long-term care
Long-term care (LTC) residents often experience poor quality of life (QOL). Culture change has been proposed as an approach to improve resident centredness in care, thereby aiming to enhance residents' QOL. This article reports on one of the findings of the implementation of an organisational culture change approach, Neighbourhood Team Development (NTD). A retrospective cohort design was used to explore resident QOL scores. The sample included 23…
Assessing the feasibility of an integrated collection of education modules for fall and fracture prevention (iCare) for healthcare providers in long term care
Falls and hip fractures are a major health concern among older adults in long term care (LTC) with almost 50% of residents experiencing a fall annually. Hip fractures are one of the most important and frequent fall-related injuries in LTC. There is moderate to strong certainty evidence that multifactorial interventions may reduce the risk of falls and fractures; however, there is little evidence to support its implementation. The purpose of this …
Patient and public involvement in international research
BACKGROUND: Patient and public involvement (PPI) is a critical priority in research, policy, academia and advocacy organizations. PPI in dementia research is gaining momentum. However, these efforts are missing in international projects aimed at those living with advanced dementia in long-term care (LTC) homes. Additional complexities can arise in enacting PPI within the context of integration of a palliative approach to care and experiences arou…
Informal care-givers' attitudes towards medical assistance in dying for persons with dementia
Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is legal in Canada but cannot be accessed through an advance request. Some data suggest that informal care-givers of persons with dementia support the legalisation of advance requests for MAID. Opponents argue that care-givers' support is due to society's failure to address their well-documented burden and unmet needs. To our knowledge, this assumption has never been tested. To fill this knowledge gap, we conduc…
Delivering person-centred palliative care in long-term care settings
Reflecting on sustained calls for patient-centredness and culture change in long-term care, we evaluated the relative importance of personal and organisational predictors of palliative care, hypothesising the former as weaker predictors than the latter. Health-care employees (N = 184) from four Canadian long-term care homes completed a survey of person-centred care, self-efficacy, employee wellbeing and occupational characteristics. Using backwar…
The Development and Preliminary Evaluation of the “SPA‐LTC Voices” Video Series as a Means of Articulating a Palliative Approach in Long‐Term Care Settings
Palliative care has earned its place as a respected approach to medicine that focuses on quality of life, symptom management, a team approach, and family involvement, typically following the diagnosis of a life‐limiting illness. To improve health equity, it is important to encourage the adaptation of palliative care practice and philosophy beyond hospices and within a range of care settings. To support further adaptation in long‐term care, our re…
Medicine (15 obras) · Nursing (13 obras) · Psychology (13 obras) · Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes (7 obras) · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues (7 obras) · Dementia (5 obras) · Gerontology (5 obras) · Health care (5 obras) · Long-term care (5 obras) · Palliative care (5 obras)