Resistance to change in geriatric care

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Hospitals for the elderly face challenges in enhancing patient quality of life.
• Action research is a valuable methodology for implementing change in healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the implementation of an action research project aimed at improving patient quality of life in a hospital for the elderly.
• To identify and analyze constraints and staff resistance to proposed changes.

Main Methods:

• Employed an action research methodology grounded in social systems and psychoanalytic theories.
• Investigated staff perspectives and organizational dynamics within the hospital setting.

Main Results:

• Identified significant constraints hindering development and quality of life improvements.
• Evidence suggested staff resistance to closer patient relationships, linked to associated anxieties.
• Resistance strength correlated with the stresses of caring for aging and dying patients.

Conclusions:

• Organizational constraints and staff anxieties can impede positive change in elderly care.
• The specific stresses of geriatric care contribute to resistance to relationship-centered models.
• Findings offer critical insights for future development projects in similar healthcare environments.