Managing Long-Term Care Staff Workload Through a Resident-Centred Intervention: A Mixed-Method Evaluation of the Synergy Tool

Context: Long-term care (LTC) staff have been burdened by heavy workloads, compromising their ability to deliver resident-centred care. Objectives: This study adapted the Synergy Model for LTC and evaluated the impact from usage of the Synergy tool, a resident-needs assessment tool, on LTC staff perspectives. The tool assesses eight resident acuity and dependency characteristics and can be used in real-time to identify residents’ priority care needs and inform staffing and workload distribution. Methods: A mixed-method study was conducted in two Canadian LTC homes where the impact of the implementation of the Synergy tool was assessed. Quantitative data included online staff surveys (2 time points) and administrative overtime data (18 months). Qualitative data were gathered through two focus groups per LTC home with staff and leadership (n = 3–5 participants per focus group, N = 14 total participants). Findings: Quantitative data indicated mental health improvement and short-term decline in staff overtime rates during implementation. Qualitative data themes were improved care planning and resident-centred staffing. However, increased workload was perceived with short-term tool use. Limitations: Adoption of the tool was implemented over a short duration with a minimal impact strategy in a limited number of care units within the natural LTC setting to reduce overall LTC workload impact and to more closely mimic what would be feasible in most LTC homes. The findings from this study should be interpreted with the implementation constraints in mind. Implications: Although tool use yielded positive outcomes, structural barriers must be addressed to ensure successful implementation and sustainability.