[Need for psychosocial nursing care in a psychogeriatric nursing home]

The aim of this study is to analyze the dimensions of psychosocial nursing requirements in a psychogeriatric nursing home. In addition to biographical and anamnestical data of nursing home residents, the psychosocial nursing requirements are measured with the Nurses' Observations Scale for Geriatric Patients (NOSGER). Data are compared with patients of a psychogeriatric department of a state psychiatric hospital. Results show that psychogeriatric nursing home residents have at least as much psychosocial restrictions as acutely mentally ill patients in the psychiatric hospital. In some dimensions of the NOSGER (memory, social behavior) residents show even higher scores than the control group. By analyzing the rate of residents and psychogeriatric patients who score above the cut-off points given by the NOSGER developers, it is shown that the rate of residents with psychosocial nursing requirements is at least as high as in the control group. Concerning the NOSGER dimensions Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and Social Behavior, the rate of nursing home residents above the cut-off points is significantly greater than the rate of the acute psychogeriatric patients. It is concluded that budgets of psychogeriatric nursing homes must be able to finance qualified psychiatric personnel to meet the residents' special psychosocial requirements adequately.