Quality of life: Perceptions of residential care

Abstract

Residents in selected aged care facilities in Australia (n = 185) and New Zealand (n = 44) completed a 56 item quality of life instrument derived and refined through grounded theory. Ten scales were developed from the items. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that there were no main differences as a function of cohort (Alzheimer's or non-Alzheimer's) or country of residence (Australia or New Zealand). Significant differences emerged as a function of the source of help in completing the instrument. Where nursing staff assisted residents complete the instrument, scoring indicated that residents enjoyed a better quality of life than if the instrument was completed by the resident alone, or with assistance from non-nursing staff and others, including relatives, welfare students and diversional therapists. Nursing staff rather than non-professional nursing staff tended to work more with non-Alzheimer residents when completing the questionnaire. Significant differences were also discovered in the ranking of concerns on the basis of cohort and country of residence.

How are Quality of Life Ratings Made? Toward a Model of Quality of Life in People with Dementia

“…Despite this apparent reticence, three measures of QOL have been developed using lay panels including people with dementia by Byrne & MacLean [8] in New Zealand, Brod et al [9] in USA and Smith et al [10] in the UK. The first [8] was developed using interviews with people in nursing homes.…”

“…The first [8] was developed using interviews with people in nursing homes. The second [9] was developed using focus groups with people with dementia, their caregivers and professionals working with people with dementia and the third [10] was developed using a combination of literature search, views of non-professional carers of people with dementia and people with dementia themselves.…”

Quality of life in dementia patients in long-term care

“…Researchers disagree about what should be considered an index of good QOL and how it should be evaluated. A study conducted in a nursing home showed that QOL was rated signi®cantly higher if it was assessed by the nurses who provided direct care than if it was assessed by the resident in question or by other sta members (Byrne and MacLean, 1997). Further, the patient's point of view about his/her psychological and social well-being is not always the same as the established canons.…”

Policies, principles and pragmatism: old age psychiatrists' attitudes and practice regarding influenza immunisation for long stay patients

“…Proxy measurements of QOL are often inaccurate and frequently underestimate QOL (Farsides and Dunlop, 2001). Moreover measurements of QOL by proxies often vary widely depending on the relationship of the subject with the assessor (Byrne and MacLean, 1997;Gonzalez-Salvador et al, 2000). Not only the reliability, but also the construct validity, of QOL in people who lack competence or communication ability might be questioned, given its quintessentially subjective nature.…”