Using Action Research to Address Loss of Personhood in a Continuing Care Setting

This article describes a three-year action research project, aimed to support staff in recognizing and responding to loss of personhood in a continuing care setting. The context of this study was a U.K. National Health Service (NHS) nursing home for the long-term care of older people. Interventions used to support this development included the collection and sharing of residents' life histories, weekly team supervision meetings for staff, an action learning set for managers, and monthly external supervised meetings for both the action researcher and senior manager. This article reports on the processes and outcomes of change achieved and the learning gained from working in a collaborative way with staff. Given that current policy indicates the need for person-centered care, this study provides a possible mechanism for putting it into practice through a systems and psychodynamically informed approach.