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Current Research & Quality

Empowering Residents to Shape the Places They Call Home: A Co-Design Research Project

OARC undertook a two-year research project to develop a practical, evidence-informed resource supporting meaningful resident engagement in home operations and decision-making. Grounded in the lived realities of long-term care, the work was shaped by a research team that included Resident Leaders, as well as sector and academic partners.

Our project involved three progressive phases:

  • A scoping review of existing academic literature to learn how residents have been engaged in home-level decisions.
  • Interviews and focus groups with residents and team members in Ontario long-term care homes to identify the current facilitators and barriers to resident engagement in home-level decisions.
  • Co-design and development of a toolkit for long-term care homes to facilitate resident involvement in their home operations and decision-making. The published toolkit was made available here: https://www.ontarc.com/resources/everything-about-residents-involves-residents/

This project was made possible by two successful grant applications: the Springboard grant program by the Canadian Frailty Network joint with Perley Health and a Patient-Oriented Research grant provided by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR).

Published papers

Presentations

Applying Tools for Transformation: OARC’s Resident Engagement Toolkit. Ontario CLRI. Applying Tools for Transformation: OARC’s Resident Engagement Toolkit

Everything About Residents Involves Residents: A Co-Designed Toolkit. Ontario Association of Residents’ Councils. Everything About Residents Involves Residents: A Co-Designed Toolkit

Collaborating for Change: A Co-Design Approach to Resident Engagement in Long-Term Care Homes. [Organization not specified]. Collaborating for Change: A Co-Design Approach to Resident Engagement in Long-Term Care Homes

Ask a Resident First – Resident Engagement in Research. Ontario Association of Residents’ Councils. Ask a Resident First – Resident Engagement in Research

Nothing about residents without residents. Advancing Workforce Analysis and Research for Dementia (AWARD Network). Highlights from Phase 1 and 2 of the Research Project

Residents of Long-Term Care Homes Shaping the Place They Call Home. brainXchange, in partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Canada and the Canadian Consortium of Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA). Access recording

Research Inquiries

Chloe Yeung
Chloe Yeung
Evaluation and Quality Manager
ext. 290

Resident Food Services Survey – thank you!

In fall 2025, the Ontario Association of Residents’ Councils (OARC), in partnership with the Ontario Seniors Nutrition and Advocacy Committee (OSNAC), conducted a Food Services Survey across Ontario long-term care homes. Designed with residents, the survey gathered feedback from nearly 1,400 participants on food quality and dining experiences.

Results have been shared with Ministry partners and presented through webinars and conferences to support ongoing quality improvement initiatives.

Learn more: Watch OARC’s survey overview, featuring key findings and resident insights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDV6Nxsz2mw.

Questions?

Melissa McVie
Melissa McVie
Executive Director (Acting)
Director of Communications
ext. 260