Caspar, Sienna

Program Coordinator

Health Sci - Therapeutic Recreation

Phone
(403) 329-2699
Email
sienna.caspar@uleth.ca

About Me

Sienna received a B.Sc. in Therapeutic Recreation from the University of South Alabama in 1990. She has worked in long-term care facilities in both Canada and the United States for over 20 years as both a certified therapeutic recreation specialist (CTRS) and a consultant. She is the author of the MARRCC (Measurable Assessment in Recreation for Resident-Centred Care). From 2003 to 2007 she was a national trainer for the American Therapeutic Recreation Association's Dementia Practice Guideline for the non-pharmacological treatment of disturbing behaviours. In 2008, she received a MA in Gerontology from Simon Fraser University. Her thesis explored the relationship between care staff empowerment and the ability to provide person-centred care in long-term care settings. She continued to study this important topic at the University of British Columbia, where she completed her PhD in the Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program. As a postdoctoral fellow in a cross appointment at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute/University Health Network and the University of Victoria, she conducted an intervention study aimed at improving leadership and collaborative decision making in long-term care settings. Currently, she is an assistant professor at the University of Lethbridge in the Faculty of Health Sciences—Therapeutic Recreation program.

Publications

Caspar, S., Phinney, A., Spenceley, S., & Ratner, P. (2020). Creating cultures of care: Exploring the social organization of care delivery in Long-term care homes. Journal of Long-Term Care. 13-29.

Caspar, S., Davis, E., McNeill, D., & Kellett, P. (2019). Intergenerational programs: Breaking down ageist barriers and improving youth experiences. Therapeutic Recreation Journal. 53(2), 149-164

Caspar, S., Davis, E., Douziech, A. & Scott, D. (2018). Non-pharmacological management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia: What Works, in What Circumstances, and Why? Innovations in Aging. 1(3), DOI:10.1093/geroni/igy001.

Caspar, S., Le, A., McGilton, K. (2017). The influence of supportive supervisory practices and health care aides' self-determination on the provision of person-centred care in long-term care facilities. Journal of Applied Gerontology, DOI:0733464817750275.

Caspar, S., Cooke H., Phinney, A. & Ratner, P. (2016). Practice Change Interventions in Long-Term Care Facilities: What Works, and Why? Canadian Journal on Aging/La Revue canadienne du vieillissement, 35(3), 372-384.

Caspar, S., Ratner, P., Phinney, A., & MacKinnon, K. (2016). The influence of organizational systems on information exchange in long-term care facilities: An institutional ethnography. Qualitative Health Research. 26(7), 951-965, DOI: 10.1177/1049732315619893

Caspar, S., Cooke, H.A., O'Rourke, N., & MacDonald, S. (2013) The Influence of Individual and Contextual Characteristics on the Provision of Individualized Care in Long-Term Care Facilities. The Gerontologist. 53(5): 790-800.

Grand, J., Caspar, S., & MacDonald, S. (2011). Clinical Features and Multidisciplinary Approaches to Dementia Care. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare. 4, 125-147.

Caspar, S., O'Rourke, N., & Gutman, G. (2009). The differential influence of culture change models on long-term care staff empowerment and provision of individualized care. The Canadian Journal on Aging, 28(2), 165-175.

Caspar, S. & O'Rourke, N. (2008). The influence of care provider access to structural empowerment on individualized care in long-term care facilities. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 63B(4), S255-S265. (CIHR Institute of Aging Age+ Award, $1,000.)

Research Interests

General:
Applied Research, Intervention Research, Program Evaluation, Systems Research, Mixed Research Methods

Focus:
Therapeutic Recreation, Non-pharmacological Treatment of Responsive Behaviours, Organizational Behaviour, Empowerment, Leadership, Interprofessional Teamwork and Collaboration, Quality of Care and Quality of Life in Continuing Care, Dementia Care, Holistic Approaches to Wellness