The influence of care provider access to structural empowerment on individualized care in long term care facilities

This thesis explores the relationship between care provider access to structural empowerment and the provision of individualized care in long-term care (LTC) facilities. Structural equation models (SEM) were computed to examine the relationship between access to empowerment structures (i.e., informal power, formal power, information, support, resources, and opportunity structures) and the provision of individualized care by RNs/LPNs (n = 242) and care aides (n = 326) recruited from three British Columbia health regions. Invariance analyses were subsequently undertaken to compare SEM models between groups. Access to structural empowerment had a statistically significant, positive effect on the provision of individualized care for both groups (though not statistically different between groups). Findings from this study suggest that improving the provision of individualized care in LTC facilities can be enhanced when RNs, LPNs, and care aides have appreciable access to empowerment structures.