News

Tuesday 21st February 2012

STUDY FINDS THAT CARE HOME RESIDENTS?EXPERIENCES EXCEED EXPECTATIONS

NEWS RELEASE FROM

THE REGISTERED NURSING HOME ASSOCIATION AND

THE PERSONAL SOCAL SERVICES RESEARCH UNIT

(PSSRU) AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KENT

Issued 7 th December 2011

STUDY FINDS THAT CARE HOME RESIDENTS’

EXPERIENCE OF CARE GENERALLY EXCEEDS THEIR

EXPECTATIONS

Most of the care home residents who took part in a study by the Personal

Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) at the University of Kent told

researchers that their actual experience of living in a care home had been

better than they expected.

The residents interviewed for the study – once just after moving into their care

home and again three months or more later – generally found that they had

more say over their lives than expected.

They also felt their quality of life had improved, their health and other needs

were being met, and their social life was as good as or better than it had

previously been.

Results of the study show that, without exception across many different

aspects of their lives, the care home residents believed that they were more in

control of what happened to them – and in some instances much more in

control – than they had thought they would be before moving to the care

home.

Residents’ experience exceeded their own expectations with regard to:

* when they could receive visitors –

74% expected this; 94% experienced it

* coming and going as they pleased – 64% expected this; 74% experienced it

* being alone when they wanted – 62% expected this; 100% experienced it

* deciding when to get up – 43% expected this; 84% experienced it

* deciding when to go to bed – 58% expected this; 96% experienced it

* getting a hot drink when wanted – 55% expected this; 80% experienced it

* arranging room as they wanted – 51% expected this; 86% experienced it

* help from staff when they wanted – 49% expected this; 82% experienced it

* having a choice of meals – 41% expected this; 84% experienced it

* locking their room when they left it – 29% expected this; 60% experienced it

more

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Almost all residents felt safe, clean, appropriately dressed, comfortable and

warm.

Of the residents in the study who had not previously lived in a care home, only

39% had initially believed that care homes in general were good, with 21%

thinking they were bad. In the follow-up interviews conducted after they had

been in their new care home for three months or more, 84% believed that

care homes in general were good, with none of the participants now thinking

they were bad.

Relatives of residents considered too frail to take part in the study were also

interviewed. They told researchers that, for a substantial number of residents,

quality of life had changed from bad or very bad to good or very good.

In the initial study, only 17% of relatives thought care homes in general were

good. However, as many as 92% of relatives who were followed up three or

more months after their loved one had moved into a care home thought care

homes in general were good.

The study was conducted by the PSSRU for the Registered Nursing Home

Association (RNHA) during 2008 and 2009 to find out whether residents’

experience of life in a care home fulfilled, exceeded or fell below their initial

expectations. Funding was provided by the RNHA and the Department of

Health.

The 69 residents who took part were living at the time in 46 randomly selected

care homes (some with nursing and some providing personal care only)

across six different regions of the country.

The mix of the randomly selected homes included some with three, two, one

and zero star ratings to ensure that the sample was as representative as

possible of the range of care homes in England.

Study author Robin Darton of the PSSRU at the University of Kent said: “The

results show that, for the majority of care home residents who took part in the

study, their experience of living in a care home generally exceeded their

expectations. What is significant about this study is that it explored the views

of care home residents themselves.”

RNHA chief executive officer Frank Ursell added: “We are grateful to the

PSSRU for conducting this study and for providing an extremely new

dimension to the debate about life in care homes. It is clear that, for many

individuals, going into a care home makes a positive difference to their lives.

This challenges the assumption made by some commentators that older

people would nearly always prefer to stay in their own homes. In many

instances, this is simply not the case.”

END

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Notes to editors:

1. The

aims to conduct high quality research on social and health care to inform and

influence policy, practice and theory. Significantly, the PSSRU seeks to

ensure greater user involvement in research.

2.

residents’ expectations and experience, is a senior research fellow based at

the University of Kent.

3. The

care homes across the United Kingdom.

officer of the RNHA. Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of KentRobin Darton, author of the PSSRU report on a study of care homeRegistered Nursing Home Association represents around 1,000Frank Ursell is the chief executive

For further information please contact:

Frank Ursell, Chief Executive Officer, Registered Nursing Home Association

on 0121-451 1088 or 07785 227000

Robin Darton, Senior Research Fellow, Personal Social Services Research Unit, University of Kent on 01227 827643