A Delphi Study Using Expert Consensus to Develop a Well-Defined Vision for a Centre of Excellence for Therapeutic Recreation in Continuing Care Settings

Abstract

There is an increasing demand for evidence-based practice and the demonstration of client outcome achievement in therapeutic recreation (TR). There is also an ongoing need to research TR service provision in continuing care settings. The TR profession is well-suited to improving the well-being and quality of life of individuals living in continuing care homes, however, current TR services are not standardized and vary greatly between settings and practitioners. Centres of Excellence (CoE) are organizations that endeavour to establish high standards of practice in a specific profession or area of research. A CoE could be instrumental in improving the delivery of quality TR services in continuing care settings. A Delphi expert consensus method was used to obtain a well-defined vision for a CoE for TR in continuing care settings. Three rounds of online questionnaires were completed over a period of nine weeks by an expert panel of 11 TR professionals working in continuing care settings. The participants reached the consensus that the vision of the CoE should be, “To inspire and advocate for quality TR services in continuing care settings through increased research and evidence-based practice.” The findings from this study contribute to the development of a CoE for TR in continuing care settings. They could also contribute to the development of additional CoEs for TR with other client populations—a topic that has been largely unexplored in the research literature.