Feeling at home in nursing homes.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Healthcare Management
• Environmental Psychology

Background:

• Feeling at home is crucial for nursing home residents, with an average stay of 16 months in The Netherlands.
• Resident privacy in nursing homes is a growing concern and a focus of political attention.
• Four key aspects of privacy were identified: building characteristics, nurse attitudes, choice/control, and resident disturbance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate factors influencing residents' feeling of being at home in Dutch nursing homes.
• To determine the extent of variation in feeling at home and privacy experienced across different nursing homes.
• To examine the relationship between feeling at home and privacy within nursing home environments.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative data analysis of individual interviews.
• Data collected from 686 residents and family members.
• Study conducted across 36 nursing homes in The Netherlands.

Main Results:

• Significant differences were observed among nursing homes regarding residents' feeling at home and three aspects of privacy.
• Feeling at home was strongly associated with perceived nurse attitudes and the level of disturbance from other residents.
• A weaker correlation was found between residents' feeling at home and the perceived privacy related to building characteristics.

Conclusions:

• Privacy levels vary significantly across nursing homes, indicating a non-individual determinant.
• Nursing home management policies can positively influence residents' feeling of being at home.
• Improving privacy, particularly regarding staff interactions and resident-induced disturbances, is key to enhancing resident well-being.