Insights from recreation and leisure practitioners regarding disparities of advancing long-term care culture change

Abstract

ABSTRACT Culture change in long-term care (LTC) signals a shift from a medical model of care to a social, relational model of caring to support the creation of strong compassionate communities and promote quality of life. Since leisure is a strong contributor to quality of life in LTC, researchers have argued that recreation and leisure practitioners have an important role to play in the culture change movement. In this paper, we describe Canadian recreation and leisure practitioners’ perceptions of their role and experiences in the LTC culture change process. Findings highlight how recreation and leisure practitioners see their role as drivers of culture change but question the role of formal education in advancing culture change initiatives. In light of the findings, we discuss the opportunities and challenges that exist for recreation and leisure practitioners as they realize their potential to advance culture change in LTC.