A good dialogue on the subject of care (completed)
- Start: 2016
- Status: completed
There is a need to better understand the perspectives and experiences of clients, care professionals, informal caregivers and volunteer with respect to care in the elderly care sector. How should we picture ‘a good dialogue’ on the subject of care, and how to facilitate this dialogue? Zinzia Zorggroep and Dr. Vivianne Baur, Marieke Breed (MSc) and Dr. Merel Visse of the research group Care Ethics have launched a one-year learning and research project on this theme.
Description
Zinzia Zorggroep is committed to providing good, relational care. The guiding principle is to have a good dialogue on the subject of care. This implies a dialogue based on trust, equality and an open attitude. The Care Ethics research group at the University of Humanistic Studies examines the question, ‘what makes good care?’
By collaborating with the UvH in this study, Zinzia is building on national and local developments aimed at stimulating good relational care. This means, not only looking at clients’ own experiences and how care professionals can be responsive to that, but that every stakeholder’s perspective and experience is important, including that of care professionals, informal caregivers, volunteers and managers. All these perspectives, experiences and their mutual exchange are considered and heard.
Vivianne Baur: "This is a participative action research project, inspired by the responsive evaluation method. It means that the whole process is shaped through close collaboration between all stakeholders within Zinzia. Their lived experiences form the basis, and it is on this basis that we interactively seek ways to bring people living and working within Zinzia into a dialogue with each other. The point is not just to have ‘a good conversation’ (what does this actually mean, according to the people involved?), but to learn how people can put themselves in each other’s shoes and so to share their experiences. We are investigating how this can be best be achieved, in such a way that bonds arise and meaningful encounters occur among these groups."
This research method means that the academic researcher’s role diverges from what it traditionally entails in regular research. Marieke Breed is not so much an ‘external expert’ but a collaborative partner for people in whose lives Zinzia plays an important role. Accordingly, she will perform this research from the outset together with these people.
Marieke Breed: "Conducting research as a collaborative partner was new to me. I find it a very fruitful way of conducting research, since external experts in an organisation may find it hard to recognise the real challenges and bottlenecks in practice. Working with research partners is rapidly gaining popularity within the scientific community, and I am curious to find out how it works. Because obviously, the people best positioned to identify problems are the clients, care professionals, informal caregivers and volunteers themselves. I am truly interested in hearing the stories of all stakeholders and discovering what they experience within Zinzia. I will be working with a number people within Zinzia who are being trained in applying this method. We will design and conduct this study together to find out what the various stakeholders find important, and how we can look after that."
Results
The project firstly aims to better understand the perspectives and experiences of all the people involved in the care for elderly people suffering dementia. By gathering stories and organising group dialogues, we also wish to stimulate a mutual understanding of each other’s situation. The participants discover ‘what matters’ for others, and learn to put themselves in their shoes. Based on these insights and exchanges, the goal is to develop a new perspective on the quality of care. Jointly with the people of Zinzia, a method is developed through which they can continue to learn from each other, also after the completion of this project.
Researchers
- Dr. Vivianne Baur
- Marieke Breed, MSc
- Dr. Merel Visse
Partners
Zinzia Zorggroep
(Co-)financing
This research project is supported through the national programme ‘Waardigheid en Trots’ (Dignity and Pride), in which Zinzia Zorggroep is a participant.
Also see
Goed gesprek over zorg voor kwetsbare ouderen (Zinzia press release, in Dutch)
Contact
Dr. Vivianne Baur: v.baur@uvh.nl
There is a need to better understand the perspectives and experiences of clients, care professionals, informal caregivers and volunteer with respect to care in the elderly care sector. How should we picture ‘a good dialogue’ on the subject of care, and how to facilitate this dialogue?