Barriers and Benefits to Implementing a Restorative Care Intervention in Nursing Homes

OBJECTIVES: This study considered the factors that facilitated or prevented nursing assistants (NAs) from engaging in restorative care activities. DESIGN: This was a qualitative study using a focus group methodology. SETTING: Study participants were recruited from 6 nursing homes. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were nursing assistants (NAs) from a study testing the implementation of a restorative care intervention (Res-Care) study. Of the 244 NAs recruited from the 6 treatment sites, 179 were available at 12 months and 93 (52%) participated in the study. MEASUREMENT: An interview guide was used during each of the focus groups. Data analysis was done using basic content analysis. RESULTS: Sixty-one codes were identified and reduced to 4 themes: facilitators of restorative care; barriers to restorative care; benefits of restorative care; and sustaining restorative care. CONCLUSION: The findings provide an important NA perspective with regard to implementation of a restorative philosophy of care and provide recommendations for future work in this area.