Background: The number of research publications reporting the use of the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework and the integrated PARIHS (i-PARIHS) framework has grown steadily. We asked how the last decade of implementation research, predicated on the (i-)PARIHS framework (referring to the PARIHS or i-PARIHS framework), has contributed to our understanding of the conceptualizations of, relationships between, and dynamics among the core framework elements/sub-elements. Building on the Helfrich et al. (2010) review of research on the PARIHS framework, we undertook a critical interpretive synthesis to: (1) identify conceptual and relational advances in the (i-)PARIHS framework and (2) identify conceptual and relational aspects of the (i-)PARIHS framework that warrant further work. Methods: We performed a systematic search in PubMed/PubMed Central, Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, JSTOR, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and PsycInfo. Articles were eligible for synthesis if they (a) were peer-reviewed articles, written in English, and published between January 2009 and December 2021, (b) applied the (i-)PARIHS framework explicitly to guide implementation research, and (c) made conceptual (expanding the conceptualization of core elements) and/or relational contributions (elaborating relationships among elements/sub-elements, or theorizing the relationships using empirical data). We used a critical interpretive synthesis approach to synthesize conceptual-relational advances of the (i-)PARIHS framework. Results: Thirty-seven articles were eligible for synthesis. Twenty-four offered conceptual contributions, and 18 offered relational contributions (5 articles contributed in both ways). We found conceptual expansion of all core (i-)PARIHS elements, with most emphasis on context (particularly outer context and leadership), facilitation, and implementation success. Articles also gave insights into the complex relationships and relational dynamism among these elements, characterized as contingent, interactive, multilevel, and temporal effects. Conclusions: We observed developmental advances of the (i-)PARIHS framework and proposed several directions to further advance the framework. Conceptualization of (i-)PARIHS elements (particularly evidence/innovation and recipients) need to be further developed by specifying conceptual and operational definitions of underlying sub-elements. Relationships among (i-)PARIHS elements/sub-elements need to be further elaborated through empirical studies that consider situational contingencies and causal complexities. This will require examining necessity and sufficiency of (i-)PARIHS elements/sub-elements in relation to implementation outcomes, interactions among elements, and mechanism-based explanations.

Culture change is intended to transform nursing homes from impersonal institutions into person-centered homes. Despite a growing interest in studying culture change, empirical evidence for its effects on quality of life (QOL) has not been synthesized. The current integrative review examined how QOL outcomes were measured in culture change studies and analyzed the current evidence for culture change effects on QOL. Guided by a conceptual framework, this review systematically searched for literature in multiple databases and identified 11 eligible studies. QOL measures varied across studies, ranging from overall perception of life to specific measures associated with physical and psychosocial well-being. Overall, culture change demonstrated a positive trend in benefiting QOL. Although inconsistent evidence existed for most QOL measures, relatively consistent evidence was found to support positive effects on resident satisfaction and autonomy. Rigorous designs are needed for future studies to generate strong evidence. [ Research in Gerontological Nursing, 13 (4), 210–224.]

Transforming nursing homes (NHs) from restrictive institutions to person-centered homes, referred to as NH culture change, is complex and multifaceted. This study, based on a survey of administrators in Minnesota NHs (n = 102), tested the domain-specific relationships of culture change practices with resident quality of life (QOL) and family satisfaction, and examined the moderating effect of small-home or household models on these relationships. The findings revealed that culture change operationalized through physical environment transformation, staff empowerment, staff leadership, and end-of-life care was positively associated with at least one domain of resident QOL and family satisfaction, while staff empowerment had the most extensive effects. Implementing small-home and household models had a buffering effect on the positive relationships between staff empowerment and the outcomes. The findings provide meaningful implications for designing and implementing NH culture change practices that best benefit residents’ QOL and improve family satisfaction.

This study examined the association between care unit work environments in long-term care (LTC) homes and trends in care aides' job satisfaction and burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, reduced professional efficacy) from 2014 to early 2020. This was a retrospective longitudinal study using data from care aide surveys collected by the Translating Research in Elder Care research program over 3 periods: September 2014-May 2015 (T₁), May 2017-December 2017 (T₂), and September 2019-March 2020 (T₃). The study included 631 care aides from a stratified random sample of 84 LTC homes in 3 Canadian provinces, who participated in data collection at all 3 time points. We used mixed-effects linear regression with a "time by work environment" interaction to assess whether work environment is associated with trends in job satisfaction (Michigan Organizational Assessment Questionnaire Job Satisfaction Subscale) and burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey). We standardized the outcomes using z-scores. Between T₁ and T₂, care aides in care units with less favorable work environments-characterized by less supportive leadership, weaker work culture, less effective team communication and feedback mechanisms, and insufficient structural resources and staffing-experienced a statistically significant decline in job satisfaction (B = -0.17, P < .01) and professional efficacy (B = -0.20, P < .01), along with an increase in exhaustion (B = 0.15, P < .05) and in cynicism (B = 0.27, P < .001). Those in more favorable work environments exhibited no statistically significant changes in these variables during the same period. Moreover, care aides in less favorable work environments continued to experience an increase in exhaustion from T₂ to T₃ (B = 0.16, P < .05). A positive work environment at the care unit level mitigated the deterioration in care aides' job satisfaction and burnout over the period studied. Targeted interventions to improve work environments show promise in sustaining the resilience of the care aide workforce.