Verandering begint bij keuze
Ondersteuning van de eigen regie van verpleeghuisbewoners met dementie door partnerschap
Summary
Change begins with choice. Supporting the autonomy of nursing home residents with dementia through partnership
Linda Hoek
AIM: Gaining insight into: 1) How and to which extent is the autonomy of nursing home residents supported? 2) How can a partnership between family and nursing staff to increase resident autonomy be created?
METHOD: This dissertation used qualitative and quantitative methods: observations, semi-structured interviews, a systematic review and a process evaluation of the partnership program.
FINDINGS: Resident autonomy can be supported in nursing home care through social relations and interactions in various ways. However, opportunities to fully support resident autonomy seem to be insufficiently used in current practice. Most existing intervention studies targeted either staff or family and often used single components. The first results show that the program developed for this dissertation seems promising: participants expressed positive experiences, were satisfied, experienced benefits for themselves and for residents, and worked together to increase the support of resident autonomy. The program appears to be feasible in daily nursing home practice.
DISCUSSION and CONCLUSION: Resident autonomy can be supported in several ways for residents with dementia living in nursing homes, and can be facilitated by a program aimed to help staff and family engage in care for residents at the nursing home ward.
Keywords: dementia, nursing home, long-term care, partnership, family caregiving