Date of Conferral

12-16-2025

Date of Award

December 2025

Degree

Doctor of Human Services (D.H.S.)

School

Human Services

Advisor

Dorothy Seabrook

Abstract

Nursing homes in the U.S. state of Mayland experience a high volume of reports for abuse and neglect and are poorly ranked for responding to complaints, leading to a low overall rating. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore leadership practices that could result in improvement in quality of care and reductions in abuse and neglect, using a needs assessment and development of a logic model as a precursor for a formative evaluation. The framework applied was Lead Self, Engage Others, Achieve Results, Development Coalitions, and Systems Transformation. Eight nursing home administrators were interviewed to collect primary data, and responses were manually coded and thematically analyzed. The results indicated that participants’ lived experiences related to the fostering of quality of care included (a) quality of care, (b) resident- and family-centered care, (c) engagement of others, (d) goal setting and achievement of results and (e) systems transformation. A recommendation is that nursing home leaders develop strategies such as engaging residents, families, and staff in decision making, build strong relationship with external partners, and gather feedback related to resident care. The findings from this study can be used by nursing home administrators to lead in a way that could advance quality care in their facilities. Potential implications for positive social change include maximized quality of care for residents, retention of staff who feel their contributions are valued, and family members’ confidence that their loved ones could be safe and free from harm and danger.

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