Assessing Independence of Residents Suffering from Dementia in Meeting Basic Living Needs in Ljubljana Nursing Homes

Abstract

Background:Obviously a very high proportion of nursing home residents exhibit the clinical signs of dementia, which affect the independence of the impaired individual. The purpose of the study is to determine the level of independence of the residents in performing basic life activities.Methods:The research examines 233 residents of both sexes, with a clinical diagnosis of dementia that are aged 65 years and over that have resided in one of the four Ljubljana municipality nursing homes for at least one year prior to the begin of the study. The autonomy in carrying out 11 basic live activities was measured on a three-level scale and their cognitive skills with a quick test of cognitive abilities (KPSS). The data was processed with SPSS, ver. 13.0 through methods of descriptive statistics, t-test for two independent samples and the variance analysis (ANOVA).Results:The examined population sample shows a high cognitive decline measured on the KPSS scale, as 50.2% of subjects in mid-stage reached ≤ 24-11 points and 43.4% of those in the late-stage reached ≤ 10-0 points in the scale (out of 30 in total). Those in the early stage reached ≤ 29-25 points in only 6.4 % of the examined population. The significant findings may thus indicate a high overall average depending on the implementation of all 11 life activities (x = 2.57) on the three-level scale (1 being self-sufficient, 2 and 3 standing for partially dependent and entirely dependent, respectively).Conclusions:The examined nursing home residents in the sample, suffering from dementia, show a high degree of dependency in performing basic life activities. The survey results so far present a starting point for the planning of programmes for increasing involvement of residents in psychosocial activities, through practical exercises in self-sufficiency through implementation of fundamental life activities.