Implementing and sustaining evidence-based practices in long-term care.

Student and preceptor resources

Click here to access the Nursing Student and Preceptor Long-Term Care program resources

Transitions in Care and Services

  • Transitions is Care and Services
    This best practice guideline (BPG) is designed to apply to all domains of nursing practice, including clinical, administration, and education. Assisting nurses to become more confident and competent when caring for clients undergoing care transitions.
  • SBAR Tool
    The SBAR (Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation) technique provides a framework for communication between members of the health care team about a patient's condition.

Conflict Management

Continence and Constipation

  • A Proactive Approach to Bladder and Bowel Management in Adults
    This BPG provides evidence-based recommendations for effective strategies to support adults (aged 18 years and older) living with urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence and/or constipation that will improve quality of care and lead to positive health outcomes. It includes practice statements on conducting an initial assessment and recommendations that address the following: toileting strategies, physical activity, adequate intake of fibre and/or fluids, interprofessional approach and bowel protocol.
  • Toileting problems, continence and dementia
    A guide to toilet problems and incontinence, including causes, solutions and how this might affect a person with dementia. All content © 2024 Alzheimer's Society. 

Delirium, Dementia and Depression

Elder Abuse

End-of-Life Care

Falls

  • Prevention of Falls and Reducing Injury from Falls, Fourth Edition
    This BPG outlines evidence-based approaches for preventing falls and reducing fall injuries for adults (>18 years) at risk for falls and receiving care from nurses and other health-care providers across the health-care continuum.
  • Purposeful Hourly Rounding in long-term care
    This article highlights the impact of implementing the RNAO Falls Best practice guideline. (Laviolette, K. (2020). Purposeful hourly rounding in long-term-care. Canadian Nurses Association.)
  • Frailty eLearning Module
    This module provides the learner background information about causes and risk factors for falls. It reviews both extrinsic and intrinsic risk factors for falls, as well as the interdisciplinary health-care team that can be utilized to prevent falls in the geriatric population. Registration is required to access RGPs of Ontario's eLearning Modules.
  • GERAS Centre for Aging Research's Long-Term Care Video Series - Personal Support Worker (2018):

Intraprofessional Collaboration

  • Intra-professional Collaborative Practice among Nurses
    The goal of this BPG is to strengthen collaborative practice among nurses, because effective collaborative practice is essential for working in health-care organizations. The guideline focuses on collaborative practice amongst three types of nursing professionals – registered nurse (RN), registered practical nurse (RPN) and nurse practitioner (NP) – and explore what fosters healthy work environments for them, aware that collaboration must align with the needs of the patient or client.
  • Managing and Mitigating Conflict in Health-care Teams
    This BPG focuses on nursing teams and processes that foster healthy work environments. The focus for the development of this guideline was managing conflict among nursing and healthcare teams with the view that while some conflict is preventable, healthy conflict can also be beneficial.
  • Eight ways to stop unprofessional behaviour: Powerful scripts of healthcare leaders
    This article provides scripts health-care leaders can use when addressing unprofessional behaviours. Eight common disruptive situations are provided followed with scripts on how to handle them. (Healthy Workforce Institute (2020). Eight ways to stop unprofessional conduct: Powerful scripts for healthcare leaders.) 

Leadership

Oral Health

  • Oral Health: Supporting Adults Who Require Assistance
    This BPG provides nurses, the interprofessional team and caregivers with evidence-based recommendations for the provision of oral care for adults (18 years of age and older) that will: (a) promote an interprofessional approach to providing oral care, (b) enhance the delivery of oral care interventions, and (c) ultimately lead to positive oral health outcomes for persons.
  • Approaches for oral care - interventions for residents in long-term care
    This table provides approaches and interventions that staff can use for providing oral care for residents with responsive behaviours, communication or functional impairment. (Scott, D., Van der Horst, M. L., & Bowes, D. (2007). Approaches of oral care: Interventions for residents in long-term care with responsive behaviours, communication or functional impairments.)
  • Medications that impact oral health
    This resource lists medications that can have an impact on oral health. (South West: Best Practice Coordinators in Long-Term Care Initiative. (n.d.). Medications that impact oral health.)
  • Three-part video series on how to perform an oral assessment in long-term care (MacDonald, I. & Peachman-Faust, T. (2015)):
    • Part 1 - The Normal mouth
      This 25-minute video discusses available oral assessment tools and demonstrates a method for performing an oral assessment. Pictures of variations of normal findings, how to check denture fit and challenges in oral care are presented.
    • Part 2 - Unhealthy changes and common abnormalities
      This 25-minute video shows a range of unhealthy changes and common abnormalities found during an oral assessments of residents living in long term care homes. 
    • Part 3 - Best practices for oral care interventions in LTC
      This 30-minute video demonstrates how to brush another persons teeth and describes interventions for various oral care problems found in residents in long term care

Ostomy Care

  • Supporting adults who anticipate or live with an ostomy
    This BPG provides nurses and the interprofessional team with evidence-based recommendations for the most effective strategies to support adults (18 years and older) who anticipate or live with an ostomy. The purpose of this BPG is to (a) promote self-management, (b) enhance access and delivery of care, and (c) lead to positive health outcomes in adults who anticipate or live with an ostomy.
  • Hollister Ostomy Care – eLearning Lessons
    This online course in Ostomy Care offers healthcare professionals lessons in this specialized area of care. There are five lessons with an assessment at the conclusion of each lesson.  Topics include: 1: Ostomy overview, 2: Pouching systems, 3: Ostomy accessories, 4: Problem solving, 5: Education and resources 
  • Ostomy Documentation Tips – Wound Care Advisor
    This article provides concise instructions for documenting the condition of ostomies. It reviews what to assess in an ostomy: general characteristics; stoma; effluent; peristomal skin; appliance and accessories; etc. (Wound Care Advisor. 2016. Ostomy-Documentation-Tips. Copyright: Information in Apple Bites is courtesy of the Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI), © 2016. Apple Bites, Ostomy2016 Journal Vol5 No6, clinical journal, ostomy, tips, wound infections)

Pain

  • Assessment and management of Pain (Third edition)
    This BP guideline contains recommendations for the assessment and management of pain for Registered Nurses (RNs) and Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs).
  • Abbey Pain Scale
    Abbey Pain Scale is an assessment tool for the measurement of pain in people with dementia who cannot verbalize. Abbey, J; De Bellis, A; Piller, N; Esterman, A; Giles, L; Parker, D and Lowcay, B. Funded by the JH & JD Gunn Medical Research Foundation 1998 – 2002. This document may be reproduced with this acknowledgment retained. 
  • Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia Scale (PAINAD)
    Comprehensive pain assessment tool for use in cognitively intact adults with pressure injuries. This pain assessment tool is useful for people with dementia who are unable to verbally express their pain. It focuses on behaviours and provides the ability to score pain levels. Reference: Interior Health. 

Person and Family Centred Care

Professionalism

  • Professionalism in nursing
    This healthy work environment BPG helps identify the organizational culture, values and relationships and the structures and processes required for developing and sustaining effective professional practices. Professional practice involves structures and processes needed to achieve outcomes.
  • Practice Education in Nursing
    The purpose of this BPG is to provide evidence-based recommendations that promote and sustain the undergraduate nursing student’s application of knowledge to practice in a variety of clinical learning environments. The BPG explores the relationships among and between students and nursing educators, nursing staff, preceptors, and diverse health-care team members, and it considers their influence on the quality of practice education, professional socialization, and nursing excellence.
  • College of Nurses of Ontario's Critical inquiry and evidence-informed practice webcast
    In a 48-minute interview, two executive nurse leaders discuss the concepts of critical inquiry and evidence-informed practice and how they apply to nursing.  The regulatory requirements for evidence based informed practice along with how critical inquiry supports a safe practice are discussed by way of examples. (College of Nurses of Ontario. (2015).  Critical inquiry and evidence-informed practice webcast.)
  • College of Nurses of Ontario's Medication practice standard: An overview webcast
    This webcast reviews the medication practice standard as outlined by the College of Nurses of Ontario. (College of Nurses of Ontario. (2019). Medication practice standard: An overview webcast.) 
  • College of Nurses of Ontario's Documentation: An overview webcast
    This webcast reviews the standards for documentation outlined by the College of Nurses of Ontario. (College of Nurses of Ontario. (2012). Documentation: An overview webcast.)

Restraints

  • Promoting Safety: Alternative Approaches to the Use of Restraints
    Nurses require knowledge and evidence on the use of alternative approaches to the use of restraints. The promotion of safe evidence-based care is the goal to prevent the untoward incidents from the use of restraints. This BPG offers nurses a model which will help them to examine their approach to the use of restraints within their practice.
  • College of Nurses of Ontario's Documentation Practice Standard
    Practice standards are documents that help nurses understand their responsibilities and legal obligations to enable them to make safe, effective and ethical decisions when practising. This practice standard aims to help nurses understand the regulatory and legislative requirements for documentation.
  • College of Nurses of Ontario's Understanding Restraints
    This link included information and documents to helps nurses understand their responsibilities and legal obligations to enable them to make safe, effective and ethical decisions when practicing. A link is included to the practice standard which aims to help nurses understand their responsibilities and make decisions regarding the use of restraints.
  • Best Practice Jeopardy: Alternative to Restraints edition
    A sample Jeopardy game, a fun way to evaluate your learning with classmates.

Skin and Wound Care

  • Assessment and Management of Pressure Injuries for the Interprofessional Team, Third Edition
    This BPG presents evidence-based recommendations that apply to the decisions and best practices of interprofessional teams working to assess and manage existing pressure injuries in people 18 years of age and above. It provides evidence-based practice, education and policy recommendations for interprofesssional teams across all care settings who are assessing and providing care to people with existing pressure injuries. Moreover, this Guideline refers to “pressure ulcers” as “pressure injuries.” This new terminology aligns with the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel.
  • Assessment and Management of Foot Ulcers for People with Diabetes, Second Edition
    This BPG provides nurses and the interprofessional team with evidence-based recommendations on the assessment and management of people at risk of or with an established diagnosis of diabetic foot complications.
  • Best Practices for Prevention of Medical Device-Related Pressure Ulcers in Long-Term Care
    This one-page document describes the areas that should be assessment when using medical devices in LTC in order to prevent pressure related injuries. (National pressure ulcer advisory panel (2013). Best Practices for prevention of medical device-related pressure ulcers in long-term care. Copyright 2013.) 
  • Braden Risk Assessment Scale
    The Braden Scale can be used to assess a resident’s level of risk for developing pressure injuries by evaluating six areas of risk: sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, and friction or shear. (Braden Scale (1988). © Copyright Barbara Braden and Nancy Bergstrom, 1988).
  • Skin and Wound Care Refresher for LTC 
    This three-part webinar series is suitable for registered staff working in LTC. It also includes an additional video of Q&A’s that were asked of the presenters following the presentations. Topics covered in the webinars include: assessment of skin, pressure management and pressure ulcers.
  • Positioning Techniques in Long-Term Care: Self-directed learning package for health care
    Learn how to position a resident in good body alignment, taking into consideration typical scenarios that may occur in a long-term care setting and contribute to the resident’s comfort while reducing the incidence of pressure injuries and contractures. 
  • International Skin Tear Advisory Panel (ISTAP) Skin Tear Classification
    This tool was developed and validated by the ISTAP to support a universal language for identifying and documenting skin tears. It also addresses medications that can affect the skin; a skin tear algorithm and a product selection guide. Note: Permission must be obtained for re-use. (International Skin Tear Advisory Panel: A Tool kit to aid in the Prevention, Assessment and treatment of skin Tears using a Simplified Classification System. Advances in Skin and Wound Care. 26 (10): 459-476, October 2013)
  • Skin tears: Best practices for care and prevention
    This article discusses standards and recommendations for the assessment, treatment, and prevention of skin tears developed by the International Skin Tear Advisory Panel (ISTAP)
    Reference: Leblanc, K., Baranoski,S., (May 2014). Skin Tears: Best Practices for Care and Prevention. Nursing, (44) 5, pp.36-46.