The Ontario CLRI at the RIA, with Behavioural Supports Ontario and Family Councils Ontario. has taken important steps to change the way long-term care is portrayed in the media!

In 2020, we submitted recommendations to the Canadian Press surrounding the language used while writing about long-term care and included the use of ‘homes’ instead of ‘facilities’ and ‘residents’ instead of ‘patients’, among other suggestions.

We are thrilled to announce that the Canadian Press has accepted these recommendations and already incorporated them into the online Canadian Press style guide. These guides serve as reference materials for Canadian journalists, communications and public relations professionals. The new recommendations have been included into the Sensitive Subjects chapter, in the Age section:

• The use of LTC home versus facility or institutions
• The use of resident versus patient
• The inclusion of living with when writing about a resident living with a cognitive condition, versus suffering from

We hope that the integration of person-centred language recommendations into this reference guide will help raise awareness in the media and communications sectors and will serve as an important step to elevating the profile of long-term care to the general public.

Do you want to learn more about person-centred language? Explore our free eLearning courses and take the online person-centred language pledge to formally commit to using inclusive and respectful language in long-term care.

Find more person-centred language resources for LTC on our website.

This proposal was developed by the Ontario CLRI at the RIA in partnership with Behavioural Supports Ontario and Family Councils Ontario.