Nursing home care for people with dementia: Update of the design of the Living Arrangements for people with Dementia (LAD)‐study

Abstract

AimThe aim of the current study is to describe the extended design of the Living Arrangements for people with Dementia (LAD)‐study.BackgroundThe demand for long‐term care in care homes increases with the growing number of people with dementia. However, quality of care in care homes needs improvement. It is important to monitor quality of care in care homes for the purposes of conducting scientific research, providing input for policy, and promoting practice improvement.DesignThe Living Arrangements for people with Dementia ‐study monitors changes in ‐ quality of ‐ care in care homes since 2008. With its extended design, the Living Arrangements for people with Dementia ‐study now also focuses on additional topics that are considered to improve quality of care: implementation of person‐centred care, involvement of family carers and volunteers and reducing psychotropic drugs and physical restraints using a multidisciplinary approach.MethodsThe data collection of the Living Arrangements for people with Dementia ‐study entails an interview with the manager and questionnaires are completed by care staff, family carers, volunteers, and multidisciplinary team members. This study is partly funded by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, grant number 323,088 and partly funded by the participating care homes.DiscussionResults of the Living Arrangements for people with Dementia ‐study will shed more light on variables related to quality of care in care homes for people with dementia.ImpactBased on the obtained information, appropriate efforts to improve quality of care can be discussed and implemented. Furthermore, the results of this study guide policy making, because it expands knowledge about the effects of changing policies and exposes topics that need further attention.Trial registration: Not applicable. This article does not report the results of a healthcare intervention on human participants.

Work environment and person‐centred dementia care in nursing homes—A cross‐sectional study

“…In this study, data from ‘Living Arrangements for people with Dementia (LAD)’‐study database. The LAD study is a cross‐sectional study into quality in a broad scope of dementia care environments in the Netherlands (Prins et al., 2019 ). Every two to three years this study is conducted, using questions related to different topics.…”

“…In October 2015, the Trimbos Institute invited 1,728 nursing homes from 363 different health care organisations, listed by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, by mail to participate in the monitoring (Prins et al., 2019 ). In this study, data of a subsample were used, consisting of direct care staff (e.g.…”

“…registered nurses, [certified] nurse assistants) working on a unit for people with dementia. Care staff in training were excluded (Prins et al., 2019 ).…”

“…All data were extracted from the LAD‐study database. Participants received an informational letter with login information for the online questionnaire (Prins et al., 2019 ). Care staff working at wards for people with dementia were asked to complete an online questionnaire.…”

“…Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, by mail to participate in the monitoring (Prins et al, 2019). In this study, data of a subsample were used, consisting of direct care staff (e.g.…”