Evaluating the impact of "Consent and capacity: everyday decision-making in long-term care" on staff critical thinking disposition.

Abstract

The ability to think critically is valuable in all aspects of life, but staff critical thinking (CT) is particularly valuable in the challenging long-term care (LTC) setting where there are numerous, complex factors at play. Innovative continuing education programs are essential to support the development of critical thinking in LTC staff. Consent & Capacity: Everyday Decision-Making in Long-Term Care (C&C ED in LTC), is a short training course that addresses matters relevant to the LTC setting, and assists staff with the development of critical thinking disposition (CTD). This pilot study used a pre-test-post-test mixed methodology design to evaluate the impact of C&C ED in LTC on staff CTD. The California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) was used to measure CTD pre and post-C&C ED in LTC. The Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) was also used to triangulate the findings. There were 53 multidisciplinary staff participants from Lakeview Manor, a LTC facility in Beaverton, Ontario. The findings indicated that C&C ED in LTC may have had a positive impact on the development of CTD in LTC staff. This is important because strong CTD may help staff provide better quality care to residents in the challenging LTC environment and may help staff achieve greater job satisfaction. The CCTDI results showed a significant increase in the Openmindedness scale, mean CTD scores were predominantly in the positive CTD qualitative category, Systematicity scores showed an increase in qualitative CTD category, and there was an increase in percentage of staff scoring in the positive and strong positive CTD categories after participating in C&C ED in LTC for five of the CCTDI scales. The quantitative and qualitative RGT results show some relationships with CTD and the components of C&C ED in LTC. Study strengths and limitations were discussed with suggestions for future directions.