Why Nursing Homes Do What They Do

Inactive Residents Living in Nursing Homes and Associated Predictors: Findings From a Regional-Based, Italian Retrospective Study

“…Previous studies measured resident participation in some daily activities, such as watching TV, performing ADLs or instrumental ADLs, [4][5] and the association between activity and some sociodemographic (eg, race 18 ) or clinical data (eg, wandering, dementia). 6,10,13,20 Further studies have also explored the effects of some programs aimed at maintaining 32 or enhancing activity engagement 33,34 ; moreover, other studies have measured the effects of activity on neuropsychiatric symptoms 35 and on the quality of life.…”

“…More recently, den Ouden et al 5 observed 723 residents living in 7 NHs in The Netherlands, documenting that between 45% and 77% of time was spent doing little or nothing. The different occurrence of inactivity, usually expressed as the amount of time of the day doing nothing or engaging in passive activities, depends on the conceptual definition of inactivity adopted (eg, including, 5 or not, watching television 4 ) and on the measurement method used (eg, questionnaire 13 or observation 4 ).…”

The meaning of nursing-home: ‘Waiting to go up to St. Peter, OK! Waiting house, sad but true’ — An Australian perspective

“…Researchers report residents acknowledging that staff do not listen (Yates et al, 1995), that the nursing-home is a place where rules of conversation silence the resident (Kaakinen, 1992), and that it is an unnatural environment conditioning residents to live with strangers, rather than family (Bitzan, 1998). Additionally, the nursing-home is a place where the resident's life is lived in slow motion with shuffling, pushing, pulling and sleeping (Higgins, 1998, p.860) and that it is 'well known that … residents … can be isolated and have limited interpersonal relationships' (Edwards et al, 1993, p.247;Gottesman andBourestom, 1974 andHarper Ice, 2002). It seems therefore, that the nursing-home -described as a 'mysterious and depressing place' and 'negative' (Mullins, Moody, Colquitt, Mattiason & Andersson, 1998) -does exist as a place which tends to create formal structures that minimize interactions (Nussbaum, 1993, p.238, p.241;Wiener & KayserJones, 1990).…”

Stepping Across the Line

“…. can be isolated and have limited interpersonal relationships" (Edwards et al, 1993, p. 247; see also Gottesman & Bourestom, 1974;Harper Ice, 2002).…”