Commentary on “Occupational identity of staff and attitudes towards institutional closure”

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to reflect on Vesala et al.'s (2014) findings on the occupational identity of staff and attitudes towards institutional closure.

Design/methodology/approach

– This commentary reviews some of the research around staffing, organisational hygiene and service management in countries that have already implemented deinstitutionalisation, and draws out some key considerations for countries and organisations that are planning the transition from institutions to community-based care.

Findings

– There is increasing evidence around approaches that are more likely to lead to positive service user and staff outcomes. Particularly person-centred active support and practice leadership have emerged as effective approaches in facilitating organisational change and high-quality services.

Originality/value

– Some of the experiences and practices in post-deinstitutionalisation countries around active support and practice leadership can provide valuable considerations for planning institutional closure programmes in countries currently implementing deinstitutionalisation.