ISSUE 3 JUNE 2013

PiDC AlliancePiDC Alliance Connection PRO VI D ING U PD AT ES • C OM M UN IC AT I N G F IN DI NG S •

SH AR IN G R ESOU R C ES • CO N N ECT I NG PART NER S

The PiDC Alliance

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Retreat!

Sharing experiences and learning from one another: In late April, more than 30 members of the PiDC Alliance came together in Kitchener, Ontario to:

Share and learn from each other’s culture change experiences,

Re-visit the Appreciative Inquiry process through participation in a mini-AI summit,

Identify and document the positive core of the culture change process so far, and,

Plan a way forward for the remainder of the project. Diverse voices around the table: Family partners in care, front-line staff, and managers from each of three Culture Change Coalitions (CCCs) and the Village Advisory Team (VAT) worked and shared alongside members of the Research Management Team and project researchers. Planning for the future: The group used Appreciative Interviews (see pg. 2 for more de-tails), skits, art, as well as small and large group critical and reflec-tive discussion while moving from the Dawn-Design phase of the Appreciative Inquiry process. What happens next? In a report created after the retreat, the PiDC Alliance outlined some specific ways we can continue to strengthen and expand our culture change journey.

What’s Happening at the PiDC Alliance?

The Huron County CCC is moving into Dream phase of the Appreciative Inquiry process – the team is planning for their ideal care future

and welcoming new members!

Partnering Together for Change at Bloomington Cove is writing and refining their Aspiration statements in Dream phase.

The Yee Hong CCC has entered the Discovery phase of the Appreciative Inquiry Process. The group will be fine tuning their story-

gathering skills.

The Reaching for New Heights team at The Village of Wentworth Heights continues to work together to implement their aspiration state-

ments.

PiDC Alliance researchers created a webinar on The Dawning Phase of the Appreciative Inquiry Culture Change Journey.

PG 1-THE PARTNERSHIPS IN DEMENTIA CARE

(PIDC) APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY (AI) RETREAT

PG 1-WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE PIDC

ALLIANCE?

PG 2– THREE WAYS THE CULTURE CHANGE

PROCESS IS STRENGTHENED THROUGH STORY

TELLING

PG3-PIDC ALLIANCE PARTNERS AND CONTACT

INFORMATION

VOLUME 2

Members of the PiDC Alliance perform their vision of an ideal care future during the AI retreat day.

These include:

Working to provide more virtual and in person connections between all PiDC Alliance members.

Reinforcing the value of strong authentic partner-ships and exploring alternative ways to include the voices of persons living with dementia.

Committing to finding opportunities for CCC members to take leadership roles in this process.

Sharing our stories freely and confidently, through video, writing and communications, so that we can engage wider audiences in our culture change initiative.

Appreciative Interviews at the AI retreat day: Asking questions that lead to great stories!

During our April Appreciative Inquiry retreat day, we invited story-teller Annette Simmons to speak to us about the power of story-telling. Annette taught us that storytelling helps us to see subjective truths as well as objective truths and, in so doing, helps us to connect people to the process of culture change in a stronger more meaningful way. Lessons for the PiDC Alliance? Upon reflection, we thought about how Annette’s lessons might be applied to the PiDC Alliance’s culture change jour-ney towards relationship-centred care. Below are three im-portant lessons we took from Annette: 1) Stories are accessible: Anyone can tell a story, and

people are happy to listen to stories. When we share diverse experiences through story-telling in our Dawn phase, we learn about the value of each person’s expe-rience, role and perspective. Simply, stories help to build authentic partnerships.

2) Stories help us to process change and get in spired by bold ideas. Culture change is a complex process. It asks us to re-consider traditional problem solving processes which often leave people feeling blamed or isolated. People who feel this way can be resistant to change. “We learned that when we use story- telling in our work, we provide an avenue for participants to share their most profound experiences of relationship -centred care” said Darla Fortune, post-doctoral fellow. Through story-telling, participants come to their own conclusions about the potential for positive change and then analyse these stories in a way that focusses on already existing strengths and avoids feelings of blame. Stories are powerful, because they can work to inspire others to imagine an ideal care future in the Dream phase of the Appreciative Inquiry journey. When we share a story, the listener draws her or his own conclusions and lessons, and has, with that story, a powerful tool to share those lessons more broadly in language that is comfortable, non- threatening and accessible.

3) Sharing stories, and gathering stories spreads the message of culture change widely: Stories resonate. We find meaning in stories and learn from them differently than we do from top-down directives or lectures that include slide after slide of factoids and figures. Culture change is sometimes thought to be difficult to measure, but if we create a space in which people are rewarded for doing the work of culture change and sharing their stories of culture change, we might inspire many more to join the culture change movement.

Family Partner and Partnering Together for Change Member Ros Curtis

shares lessons learned from positive stories gathered during Appreciative Interviews at the PiDC Alliance retreat day.

How can I start the process of sharing stories with my group or organization? The PiDC Alliance has found that ‘appreciative interviews’ encourage people to grow comfortable with story-telling. In an appreciative interview, pairs or small groups interview one another, but their interview questions are structured to be appreciative and to elicit stories. A few examples below: 1. Tell me about a time in which you felt strongly

supported by your co-workers? 2. Can you describe a high point that you have experi-

enced (or, what you have liked best) in your work? What made the experience so positive?

3. Describe a relationship in your work life where you felt valued? What was it about the relationship that was important to you?

What do we do with the stories once we have them?

Talk about these stories together. Give participants a chance

to see what lessons can be learned from the experiences of

their colleagues. Ask, what made this story powerful? What

was happening? What can this story tell us about our ideal

future? What have you taken away or learned from these

stories? Soon, your own culture change coalition will be us-

ing stories organically in order to exchange bold ideas about

culture change.

3 Ways the Culture Change process is strengthened through story-telling

PiDC Alliance Partners Culture Change Coalition Sites

Bloomington Cove Specialty Care

Saint Elizabeth Health Care , South West CCAC , One Care, and

Alzheimer Society, Huron County

The Village of Wentworth Heights

Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care

Research Management Team Sherry Dupuis, PiDC Alliance, University of Waterloo Carrie McAiney, St. Joseph’s Hospital Hamilton, McMaster University Jennifer Carson, Research Institute for Aging Anita Cole, South West CCAC Lorna de Witt, University of Windsor Kim Fitzpatrick, Specialty Care, Inc. Amy Go, Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care David Harvey, Alzheimer Society of Ontario Paul Holyoke, Saint Elizabeth Health Centre Janet Iwaszczenko, Bloomington Cove Sharon Kaaslainen, McMaster University Ken LeClair, Queen’s University Carol McWilliam, University of Western Ontario Jenny Ploeg, McMaster University Bryan Smale, University of Waterloo Catherine Ward-Griffin, University of Western Ontario Frances Westley, University of Waterloo Kristie Wiedenfeld, Wentworth Heights PiDC Alliance Staff Darla Fortune, PiDC Alliance Sacha Geer, PiDC Alliance Lisa Meschino, PiDC Alliance PiDC Alliance Partners Advocacy Centre for the Elderly Alzheimer Knowledge Exchange Alzheimer Outreach Services Alzheimer Society, Hamilton and Halton Alzheimer Society, London and Middlesex Alzheimer Society, Peel Alzheimer Society of Canada Alzheimer Society of Ontario Alzheimer Society, York Region Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health Canadian Dementia Knowledge Translation Network Canadian Gerontological Nurses Association Concerned Friends of Ontario Citizens in Care Facilities

Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning

Dementia Advocacy and Support Network International Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University Department of Psychiatry, Queen’s University Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, McMaster University Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario Faculty of Nursing, University of Windsor Geriatric Psychiatry Program, Mount Sinai Hospital Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant LHIN Homewood Health Centre Java Music Club Local Health Integration Network - Central Long-Term and Continuing Care Associa-

tion of Manitoba Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Murray Alzheimer Research and Educa-

tion Program National Initiative for the Care of the El-

derly Office of the President, University of Windsor Office of the Vice-President, Research, University of Waterloo Ontario Association of Non-Profit Homes and Services for Seniors Ontario Community Support Association Ontario Dementia Network Ontario Family Councils’ Program Ontario Interdisciplinary Council of Aging and Health Ontario Long-Term Care Association Ontario PsychoGeriatric Association Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat Regional Geriatric Program Central Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario Revera Incorporated Saint Elizabeth Health Care Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging School of Part-Time Studies, Algonquin College Seniors Health Research Transfer Net-

work Sheridan Elder Research Centre, Sheri-

dan College South West Community Care Access Centre South West Local Health Integration Network Specialized Geriatric Services of Southwestern Ontario

The Village of Wentworth Heights University of British Columbia Waterloo-Wellington LTCH Linkages Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care

PIDC ALLIANCE CONTACT

INFORMATION

Sherry L. Dupuis, PhD

Co-Principal Investigator

Recreation and Leisure Studies

Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

University of Waterloo

Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1

519-888-4567 x. 36188

sldupuis@uwaterloo.ca

www.uwaterloo.ca/pidc

Carrie McAiney, PhD

Co-Principal Investigator

Psychiatry and Behavioural

Neurosciences

McMaster University

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton

100 West 5th Street, Rm E117D

Hamilton, Ontario L8N 3K7

905-522-1155 x. 36722

mcaineyc@mcmaster.ca

www.uwaterloo.ca/pidc

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