Appreciative inquiry in a Norwegian nursing home: a unifying and maturing process to forward new knowledge and new practice

Abstract

Purpose: Appreciative inquiry (AI) studies have proven to be useful in developing nursing knowledge and changing nursing practice. However, few AI studies have examined the meaning of participation over time among collaborating healthcare providers. Our aim was to explore and illuminate healthcare providers’ participation over time in a Norwegian nursing home to develop new knowledge and practice, focusing on sensory gardens. Method: Twenty healthcare providers participated in the 3 year AI study. Data were collected in fieldwork, interviews, and interventions. Saldañas’ longitudinal analysis was applied. Results: The collaboration between the researcher and participants created insight of a relational room, which was named “the room of closeness”. Participants’ search for new arenas to apply the meaning of the room of closeness was found when focusing on the sensory garden. Their desire for joint development created a bottom–up perspective, the hallmark of successful AI. Conclusion: Knowledge of participants’ experiences may contribute to developing AI as a useful and transferable method, especially regarding co-creating participation, and may have implications for research and society. AI’s strength-based approach may, however, lead to the neglect of data that are associated with problems, and complicate the assessment of success. Further research is therefore needed to develop AI.

“Human Flourishing with Dignity”: A Meta-Ethnography of the Meaning of Gardens for Elderly in Nursing Homes and Residential Care Settings

“…Older people’s wishes and needs related to the maintenance and development of gardens in nursing homes should be on their terms. The cardinality of nature for the residents’ health appeared to be little emphasized and included in nursing, and nurses who are aware of the dependence on nature were better able to cater to the residents’ needs ( Magnussen et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Using sensory gardens consciously in the care for patients with dementia has proven to create close and appreciative patient-nurse relationships and opens up new domains for nursing care practice ( Magnussen et al, 2019 ). Accordingly, such relationships may form a meaningful context of care that is derived from the ethos of love, responsibility, and sacrifice ( Eriksson, 2002 ).…”

“…Previous research on gardens concerning health and well-being promotion predominantly targeted the design, localization, and access to the garden. Our previous research had a professional perspective ( Magnussen et al, 2019 ). However, a key issue related to gardens in nursing care is the older people’s experiences regarding their relationship to and their use of the garden at residential facilities.…”

The Feasibility of Connecting Conversations: A Narrative Method to Assess Experienced Quality of Care in Nursing Homes from the Resident’s Perspective

“…By adopting an appreciative evaluation of quality of care, a shift is made towards the positive, embracing caregivers to recognize valuable stories and use these positive insights in their future care provision [51]. Appreciative inquiry has successfully been used in other nursing home initiatives too, for example in the implementation of the sensory garden in Norwegian nursing homes [64] or the My Home Life program in the United Kingdom [65,66]. To anchor an appreciative culture, management should reinforce communication and interactions between people, instead of standardized rules and procedures, on all levels of nursing home organizations: strategic, tactic and operational [67].…”

Planejamento de sucessão de lideranças em enfermagem: caminhos para sua elaboração

“…A IA pode ser definida como "a busca cooperativa, coevolucionária pelo melhor das pessoas e suas organizações e pelo mundo que as rodeia" (16) , pois valoriza o que há de positivo em determinada situação. Caracteriza-se pela investigação da multiplicidade e da potencialidade das relações humanas, baseada em pontos fortes para o desenvolvimento e gestão de mudanças da organização (17) . A utilização da IA vem ganhando destaque no contexto da saúde (18)(19)(20) , por facilitar o engajamento da força de trabalho, a promoção da aprendizagem organizacional e as mudanças organizacionais positivas (20)(21) .…”