The impact of person-centered care on residents' perceptions of care quality in nursing homes: an intervention study

Abstract

Background: The quality of care offered to older people is still poor. Nursing home administrators often claim that they provide person-centered care, but research indicates that institutional goals take precedence. Aim: The aim was to explore the impact of person-centered care on residents’ perceptions of care quality.  Methods: An intervention study was conducted in one nursing home (41 residents). Person-centered care was operationalized into the interventions: greeting the resident on each shift, one-to-one contact (resident – carer) for 30 minutes twice a week, informing the residents continuously about changes in medication, and informing the residents about their legal rights at admission and three months after admission. The interventions were systematically conducted for 12 months. Face-to-face interviews using the Quality from Patient’s Perspective (QPP) questionnaire were conducted both prior to interventions and immediately after the 12-month period. Descriptive and comparative statistics were used to test for differences between care quality perceptions before and after intervention (p ≤ .05). Results: The residents rated all four quality dimensions (caregivers’ medical-technical competence and identity-oriented approach, care organization’s socio-cultural atmosphere, and physical-technical conditions) more highly after the 12-month period, and the socio-cultural atmosphere was rated significantly more highly. At item level, 44 items received higher scores, and, among them, significantly higher scores were given to 6 items. One item received a significantly lower score. Conclusions: Residents’ perceptions of care quality increase when person-centered care is operationalized and takes precedence over the ward’s routines or is part of the ward’s routines. The results indicate that it is possible to design a care system where the residents are at the centre of the health care offered.