LAUSR

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To explore how managers describe leading towards person-centered care in Swedish nursing homes. BACKGROUND Although a growing body of research knowledge exists highlighting the importance of leadership to promote person-centered care, studies focused on nursing home managers' own descriptions of leading their staff towards providing person-centered care is lacking. DESIGN Descriptive interview study. COREQ guidelines have been applied. METHODS The study consisted of semi-structured interviews with 12 nursing home managers within 11 highly person-centered nursing homes purposively selected from a nationwide survey of nursing homes in Sweden. Data collection was performed in April 2017 and the data was analysed using content analysis. RESULTS Leading towards person-centered care involved a main category; embodying person-centered being and doing, with four related categories: operationalizing person-centered objectives; promoting a person-centered atmosphere; maximizing person-centered team potential and optimizing person-centered support structures. CONCLUSION The findings revealed that leading towards person-centered care was described as having a personal understanding of the PCC concept and how to translate it into practice, and maximizing the potential of and providing support to care staff, within a trustful and innovative work place. The findings also describe how managers co-ordinate several aspects of care simultaneously, such as facilitating, evaluating, and refining the translation of person-centered philosophy into synchronized care actions. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The findings can be used to inspire nursing home leaders' practices and may serve as a framework for implementing person-centered care within facilities. A reasonable implication of these findings is that if organizations are committed to person-centered care provision, care may need to be organized in a way that enables managers to be present on the units, to enact these strategies and lead person-centered care.