title: Theoretical foundations guiding culture change: The work of the Partnerships in Dementia Care Alliance.
abstract: Longstanding concerns about quality care provision, specifically in the area of long-term care, have prompted calls for changing the culture of care to reflect more client-driven and relationship-centred models. Despite an increase in culture change initiatives in both Canada and the United States, there is insufficient information about the theories and approaches that guide culture change. The purpose of this paper is to describe a culture change initiative currently underway in Canada, the Partnerships in Dementia Care Alliance, and the theoretical foundations informing our work. More specifically, we describe how the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of the Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias framework, the authentic partnership approach, participatory action research and Appreciative Inquiry have been integrated to guide a culture change process that encourages working collaboratively, thinking and doing differently and re-imagining new possibilities for changing the culture of dementia care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Sherry
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dupuis
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Carrie A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: McAiney
authors.affiliation: Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada dbfortune@uwaterloo.ca.
authors.forename: Darla
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fortune
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ploeg
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, University of Windsor, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Lorna de
authors.initials: Ld
authors.lastname: Witt
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003704:Dementia / Q000628:therapy*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000379:methods; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000379:methods
keywords: Appreciative Inquiry; authentic partnership; culture change; dementia; long-term care; participatory action research