[Which quality criteria are important for relatives about a nursing home? A single case study]

This single-case study undertakes to determine criteria for quality in nursing homes as deemed important by immediate family members of inhabitants. The design is an explorative, qualitative design with the aim of generating hypotheses. This study consists of two parts: 1. a case study of the selected institution 2. qualitative interviews with the family members of inhabitants. In order to describe the case study of the institution, documents about the nursing home were examined and analysed, observations in the nursing home were made, and experts of the nursing home were interviewed. Six close relatives of five inhabitants are interviewed. The results of these narrative interviews are analysed using coding (Strauss, 1998) in the context of this specific home for care of the elderly. Findings reveal that interviewees differentiate between a first set of criteria for quality of the institution, a second set of criteria for quality of the care and a third set of criteria they view as important for their relative living in the institution. The overruling priority is given to the third set of criteria among which the subjective well-being of the nursing home inhabitant dominates. Even in cases where the institution does not meet the requirements of the family member, the subjective well-being of the inhabitant is the main reason for not moving her/him to another nursing home.