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A Quest to Understand and Measure Nursing Home Quality of Care |
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Investigators sought to develop a theoretical model of long-term care quality. Three focus groups made up of providers of long-term care in central Missouri were asked to describe quality of care, which was then further refined by focus groups comprised of long-term care residents and their families. From these focus groups, the researchers identified a series of categories that describe the range of nursing home care, including interaction, milieu, individualized care, staff, environment, and safety. A multidimensional model was created based on both consumer and provider views of nursing home quality of care. The "Observable
Indicators of Nursing Home Care Quality Instrument" that incorporates all of the dimensions of quality was then devolved. The instrument is designed to be used after 20-30 minute observation in a nursing home's general living spaces, hallways, and public areas and is based on assessments of general environment, noise level, odors,and staff presence and communication. It has been field-tested in 123 Missouri nursing homes and has good test-retest reliability, interrater reliability, and content validity.
Rantz, M.J. & Mehr, D.R. (2001). A quest to understand and measure nursing home quality of care. Long-Term Care Interface, 2(7), 34-38. |