DEMDATA: The Austrian-Czech institutional long term care project – design and protocol of a two-centre cross sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundThe organization of long-term care is one of the main challenges of public health and health policies in Europe and worldwide, especially in terms of care concepts for people with dementia. In Austria and the Czech Republic the majority of elderly institutionalized persons with dementia are cared for in nursing homes. It is however unclear, how many persons living in nursing homes in Austria and in the Czech Republic are suffering from cognitive impairment and dementia. In addition, basic information on the nutritional status, the status of mobility and the medication prescription patterns are often missing. To facilitate new effective and evidenced based care concepts, basic epidemiological data are in urgent need. Thus, DEMDATA was initiated to provide important basic data on persons living in nursing homes in Austria and the Czech Republic for future care planning.MethodsDEMDATA is a multicentre mixed methods cross-sectional study. Stratified and randomly drawn nursing homes in Austria and the Czech Republic are surveyed. The study protocol used in both study centres assesses four different domains: a) Resident, b) Care team, c) Relative and d) Environmental Factors. Resident’s data include among others health status, cognition, dementia, mobility, nutrition, behavioural symptoms, pain intensity and quality of life. A minimum of 500 residents per country are included into the study (N = 1000 residents). The care team is asked about the use of the person-centred care and their burden. The relatives are asked about the number of visits and proxy-rate the quality of life of their family member. All staff employed in the nursing homes, all residents and relatives can voluntary take part in the study. The environmental factors include among others the organisational category of the nursing home, number of residents, number of rooms, social activities and the care concept. The project started in March 2016 and will be concluded in February 2018.DiscussionDEMDATA will provide important epidemiological data on four different nursing home domains in Austria and the Czech Republic, with a focus on the prevalence of dementia in this population. Thereby supplying decision and policy makers with important foundation for future care planning.

Cognitive status and use of analgesics and anxiolytics in residents of nursing homes in the Czech Republic

“…Seven of the 14 nursing homes were publicly owned (municipal), five were run by a non-profit organization, and two were run by a for-profit organization. The homes were situated in Prague (Czech capital) and Central Bohemia 12. All people living in the nursing homes had the same opportunity to participate, although those with an acute health condition (ie, intensive care), or patients who were dying, were excluded.…”

Health, well‐being and quality of life in aged care: Validation of theoretical domains to inform a person‐centred outcomes measurement framework

“…Health [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Healthy ageing [9][10][11] being healthy 12 general health perceptions 13 health satisfaction 14 wellness 15,16 16…”

“…By limiting the concept of quality care to clinical and medical components, and linking indicators to safety and compliance, social and psychological aspects of care are overlooked, despite their essential contribution to overall health and well‐being 6 . To determine if changes in health, well‐being and quality of life are directly attributable to interventions, there must be clarity on definitions of what should be measured 7 . An aged care framework specific to the measurement of health, well‐being and quality of life does not exist, and clearer consumer‐driven domains relevant to the measurement of these constructs are needed 5,8,9 …”

“…6 To determine if changes in health, wellbeing and quality of life are directly attributable to interventions, there must be clarity on definitions of what should be measured. 7 An aged care framework specific to the measurement of health, well-being and quality of life does not exist, and clearer consumer-driven domains relevant to the measurement of these constructs are needed. 5,8,9 The aim of this study was to identify and validate theoretical domains and concepts of health, well-being and quality of life relevant to older adults accessing residential aged care and community home care.…”

Data of a sub-analysis of the DEMDATA study: characteristics of Austrian and Czech nursing homes residents

“…In addition, environmental factors and the situation of the relatives and the care team were assessed. We created a common study protocol which was applied in both countries [1]. In the current paper, we describe data collected during the evaluation of the residents.…”