Institutionalized care for adults with significant disabilities and mental illnesses in the province of New Brunswick
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Date
2015
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University of New Brunswick
Abstract
In this research I focused on the experiences of people diagnosed with severe disabilities and mental illnesses between nineteen and sixty-four who live in long-term care facilities, their families, front-line workers, and administrators of formal care delivery. By examining historic and current long-term care policies and legislations pertinent to New Brunswick, analyzing care philosophies, and spending considerable time in the facilities collecting data, this dissertation contains a thorough analysis of the matter. There are specific consistencies/inconsistencies between mandated care objectives and care delivery, and supports are not always available in times of crises. A number of factors lead parents to seek out-of-home placement for their children, there are issues with the assessment processes necessary to attain services, extended waiting periods for placements, and parents and residents experience difficulties post-placement. Management has problems finding and retaining employees, dealing with bureaucratic red tape, and spending time negotiating for funding. People do not understand the work front-line workers do, the people they work with, or their rationale for remaining in this undervalued and underpaid work. A critical feature of this research is that it contains residents’ interpretations of themselves, their relationships, and engagement in activities.