scholarly journals A Qualitative Exploration of the Needs of Community-Dwelling Patients Living with Moderate Dementia

Author(s):  
Tzu-Pei Yeh ◽  
Hsing-Chia Chen ◽  
Wei-Fen Ma

Few studies have focused on developing a better understanding of the needs of patients with moderate-stage dementia. This study aimed to explore the needs of people living with moderate dementia and receiving home-care services from a local mental hospital. The study adopted a descriptive qualitative approach with purposive sampling to recruit patients with moderate dementia and receiving home-care services. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews and content analysis was used to interpret the experiences in the dialogue data. The results showed that the needs of people living with moderate dementia receiving home-care services contained four themes: the demand for company and care, the wish to recall familiar images, the need of reaffirming life purpose and value through reflection and reminiscence, and the desire for making autonomous end-of-life decisions. In addition to daily care, people living with moderate dementia crave companionship, expect meaningful exchanges of experiences to share their life, and have demands to have a voice in going through the final stage of life. The participants tended to focus more on issues related to the connections between living and dying. The results provide caregivers and home-care service providers with some insights into offering better care for people living with moderate dementia.

2004 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norma Raynes ◽  
Lydia Coulthard ◽  
Charlotte Glenister ◽  
Bogusia Temple

This paper describes a study that explored older people's views and priorities on what made for quality in home care services, ways of accessing these and enabling them to become part of mainstream service monitoring. It took place in a city in the north of England, in 2000. The research was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Older people's definitions of a quality home care service go outside the service boundaries that are set by social service departments who define the quality specifications for home care services and commission them. Older people had a joined‐up perspective of what contributes to quality in a home care service including, for example, in their definitions of a quality service: access to transport to get out of the house, aids, adaptations and health care. They emphasised the importance of domestic help, which has been reported in other studies. To obtain information on their definitions of a quality service older people were offered the choice of a home‐based interview or participation in a focus group. Following the collection of the data on quality a round table discussion was arranged. The purpose of this was to explore how older people's views on the quality of home care services could become part of routine monitoring, to shape further development and assist in commissioning. Older people who had participated in the first part of the study were invited to attend this, as were local commissioners, service providers and elected members with executive responsibility for older people's services. The recommendations of this round table are discussed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 460-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elissa Burton ◽  
Gill Lewin ◽  
Duncan Boldy

The proportion of older people living in our communities is rising and, to live independently, some require assistance from home care services. Physical activity can improve and maintain function, strength, and balance, which are important for those receiving home care. This study reviewed the evidence on physical activity/exercise interventions trialed with older people receiving a home care service. A systematic review of studies published from January 1982 to September 2012, from five databases, was undertaken. Inclusion criteria were: aged 65+ years; community dwelling; no dementia diagnosis; receiving home care services; and a physical activity/exercise program. Eight articles were included and results show there were few consistencies between intervention types, groups, outcome measures, and follow-up. Study quality was mixed. Future studies should include pragmatic randomized controlled trials involving home care practitioners and their clients to gain “real-world” knowledge of what interventions are effective and can be delivered within this setting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Snoen Glomsås ◽  
Ingrid Ruud Knutsen ◽  
Mariann Fossum ◽  
Kristin Halvorsen

Abstract Background Public home care for the elderly is a key area in relation to improving health care quality. It is an important political goal to increase elderly people’s involvement in their care and in the use of welfare technology. The aim of this study was to explore elderly service users’ experience of user involvement in the implementation and everyday use of welfare technology in public home care services. Method This qualitative study has an explorative and descriptive design. Sixteen interviews of service users were conducted in five different municipalities over a period of six months. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Service users receiving public home care service are not a homogenous group, and the participants had different wishes and needs as regards user involvement and the use of welfare technology. The analysis led to four main themes: 1) diverse preferences as regards user involvement, 2) individual differences as regards information, knowledge and training, 3) feeling safe and getting help, and 4) a wish to stay at home for as long as possible. Conclusion The results indicated that user involvement was only to a limited extent an integral part of public home care services. Participants had varying insight into and interest in welfare technology, which was a challenge for user involvement. User involvement must be facilitated and implemented in a gentle way, highlighting autonomy and collaboration, and with the focus on respect, reciprocity and dialogue.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kari-Anne Hoel ◽  
Anne Marie Mork Rokstad ◽  
Ingvild Hjorth Feiring ◽  
Bjørn Lichtwarck ◽  
Geir Selbæk ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Dementia is one of the main causes of disability and dependence in older people, and people with dementia need comprehensive healthcare services, preferably in their own homes. A well-organized home care service designed for people with dementia is necessary to meet their needs for health- and social care. Therefore, it is important to gain knowledge about how people with dementia experience the home care service and if the service responds to their wishes and needs. The aim of this study was to explore the experience of home care services among people with dementia, to understand the continuity in services, how the service was adapted to people with dementia, and how the patient experienced person-centered care and shared decision-making. Methods We used a qualitative, exploratory design based on a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach and performed individual in-depth interviews with persons with dementia. A convenience sample of 12 persons with moderate to severe degrees of dementia from four Norwegian municipalities participated in the study. The interviews were conducted in February 2019. Results The findings identified that the participants appreciated the possibility to stay safely in their own homes and mostly experienced good support from staff. They expressed various views and understanding of the service and experienced limited opportunities for user involvement and individualized, tailored service. The overall theme summarizing the findings was: “It is difficult for people with dementia to understand and influence home care services, but the services facilitate the possibility to stay at home and feel safe with support from staff.” Conclusion The participants did not fully understand the organization of the care and support they received from the home care services, but they adapted to the service without asking for changes based on their needs or desires. Although person-centered care is recommended both nationally and internationally, the participants experienced little inclusion in defining the service they received, and it was perceived as unclear how they could participate in shared decision-making.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7277
Author(s):  
Aviad Tur-Sinai ◽  
Netta Bentur ◽  
Paolo Fabbietti ◽  
Giovanni Lamura

The COVID-19 pandemic has been dramatically affecting the life of older adults with care needs and their family caregivers. This study illustrates how the initial outbreak of the pandemic changed the supply of formal and informal care to older adults in European countries and Israel and assesses the resilience of these countries in providing support to their older populations by means of a mix of both types of care. We subjected data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe COVID-19 period (SHARE-COVID-19) across 23 European countries (including Israel) to descriptive and cluster analyses. In the first wave of the outbreak, a significant proportion of older adults in European countries received informal help, with an increase in the frequency of informal help received from children, neighbors, friends, or colleagues and a decrease in that received from other relatives. In most countries, difficulties in receiving home care services from professional providers were reported. Seven clusters were identified, reflecting different combinations of changes in the formal/informal care provision. In most countries, informal care is more resilient than home care services that formal providers deliver. Since they are an essential source for sustainable care, their challenges related to care should be addressed. The impact of the pandemic does not follow the traditional characterization of welfare regimes. A clustering effort may yield more understanding of the priorities that future care policies should exhibit at the national level and may identify potential systems for policymakers to enhance sustainability of care for community-dwelling older adults.


2021 ◽  
pp. 108482232199477
Author(s):  
Tracy Chippendale ◽  
Patricia Gentile

Most people prefer to age in place. However, there is a growing body of literature to suggest a reluctance to accept supportive services in the home due to concerns about trust, privacy, cost, and fear of being a burden. The purpose of this study was to examine potential facilitators and barriers to accepting home care services in the website content of Licensed Home Care Service Agencies (LHSCA). In this linguistic analysis study, the written content from 88 randomly selected LHCSA websites was examined. We used LIWC2015 and Microsoft® Word software to analyze websites for relevant word categories that reflect older adult identified facilitators and barriers to the acceptance of home care services. Results revealed that the summary score for clout (i.e., confidence and leadership reflected in the writing) was high. Some of the most commonly used word categories were positive emotions, present focused, and affiliation. The word category money was included, but to a lesser degree. However, Burden and related words were highly prevalent in the writing sample. In summary, LHCSA website content contains both facilitators and barriers to the acceptance of home care services. Given the importance of home care services in promoting the ability of older adults to age in place, greater attention may be needed regarding the way services are presented and advertised to consumers.


2009 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 263-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Simon Leclerc ◽  
Claude Bégin ◽  
Élizabeth Cadieux ◽  
Lise Goulet ◽  
Jean-François Allaire ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 237796081984436
Author(s):  
Rita Sørly ◽  
Martin Sollund Krane ◽  
Geir Bye ◽  
May-Britt Ellingsen

Background: There is a need for qualitative studies on imposed innovation in home care services in welfare societies. The municipalities are key actors in the field of innovation in the public sector. As innovations often are interpreted to be in conflict with values in health care, we need knowledge on how policy changes and imposed innovations are understood and handled by middle managers working in the sector. Aim: We aim to explore how middle managers react to imposed innovation in health services through their storytelling. The research question was “What can middle managers' stories of imposed innovation tell us about their role in, and some important prerequisites for, innovation processes in municipal health-care services?” Methods: A narrative study of experiences with municipal innovation among middle managers in Norway. In this article, we do a thematic analysis of interviews with seven female middle managers who work in a home care service department. Findings: The study develops an understanding of which frameworks are required within a home care service to meet constant demands for innovation. Innovations are understood by the managers as results of policy changes and new public management demands and as a troublesome burden. We find the prerequisites for implementing innovations to be (1) trust-based management, (2) flexibility and dynamics, (3) continuity of care, and (4) emphasis on competence. These prerequisites are further interpreted in relation to dominant discourses on innovation at the macro, meso, and micro levels within the storytelling contexts. Conclusion: Imposed innovations require a negotiating practice in cross-disciplinary environments at all levels in the organization.


2019 ◽  
pp. 140349481989080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mari S. Aaltonen ◽  
Lina H. Van Aerschot

Aims: Ageing in place has become a policy priority. Consequently, residential care has been reduced, and more older people with multiple care needs reside at home with the help of informal care and home care services. An increasing share of these people has memory disorders. We examined the extent to which memory problems, in addition to other individual characteristics, are associated with unmet care needs among community-dwelling older people. Methods: The study employed cross-sectional survey data from community-dwelling people aged 75+ collected in 2010 and 2015, analysed using binary logistic regression analysis. The study population consisted of people who had long-term illnesses or disabilities that limited their everyday activities ( N = 1928). Nine per cent reported substantial memory problems. Of these, 35.7% had a proxy respondent. Results: People with memory problems have more care needs than those with other types of disability or illness. They receive more care but still have more unmet needs than others. About a quarter of people with memory problems reported that they did not receive enough help. This result did not change significantly when the proxy responses were excluded. Even a combination of informal and formal home care was insufficient to meet their needs. Conclusions: Insufficient care for people with memory problems implies a serious demand for further development of home care services. The care needs of this population are often complex. Unmet needs represent a serious risk to the well-being of people with memory disorders, and may also create an extensive burden on their informal caregivers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Dupraz ◽  
Yves Henchoz ◽  
Brigitte Santos-Eggimann

Abstract Background Given the increasing importance of formal home care services in policies dedicated to elder care, there is major interest in studying individuals’ characteristics determining their utilization. The main objective of this research was to quantify, during a 6-year timeframe, home care use trajectories followed by community-dwelling participants in a cohort study of older adults. The secondary objective was to identify factors associated with home care utilization using Andersen’s Behavioural Model of Health Services Use. Methods We proceeded to an analysis of data prospectively collected in the setting of the Lc65+ population-based study conducted in Lausanne (Switzerland). Self-reported utilization of professional home care in 2012 and 2018 was used to define trajectories during this timeframe (i.e. non-users, new users, former users and continuing users). Bivariable analyses were performed to compare new users to non-users regarding the three dimensions of Andersen’s model (predisposing, enabling and need factors) measured at baseline. Then, binomial logistic regression was used in a series of two hierarchical models to adjust for need factors first, before adding predisposing and enabling factors in a second model. Results Of 2155 participants aged between 69 and 78 in 2012, 82.8% remained non-users in 2018, whereas 11.2% started to use professional home care. There were 3.3% of continuing users and 2.7% of former users. New users exhibited a higher burden of physical and psychological complaints, chronic health conditions and functional limitations at baseline. After adjusting for these need factors, odds of home care utilization were higher only in participants reporting a difficult financial situation (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.12–2.45). Conclusions In the setting of a Swiss city, incident utilization of formal home care by older adults appeared to be largely determined by need factors. Modifiable factors like personal beliefs and knowledge about home care services did not play a role. After adjusting for need, odds of becoming home care user remained higher in participants reporting a difficult financial situation, suggesting such vulnerability does not hamper access to professional home care in this specific context.


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