Visitors' perceptions of continuing care

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Healthcare Management
• Patient Experience

Background:

• Elderly continuing care patients often rely on regular visits from family and friends.
• Understanding visitor patterns and satisfaction is crucial for optimizing care environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the demographics and visiting habits of regular visitors to elderly continuing care patients.
• To assess visitor perceptions of facility surroundings, nursing care, and staffing levels.
• To identify factors influencing visiting frequency and suggest improvements for patient quality of life.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was distributed to regular visitors of elderly continuing care patients.
• A response rate of 72% (161 replies) was achieved.
• Data analysis focused on visitor relationships, visit frequency, travel distance, cost, and satisfaction with care and staffing.

Main Results:

• 73% of visitors were first-degree relatives; 63% visited more than once weekly.
• Visiting frequency correlated positively with proximity (under 5 miles) and affordability (under £2.00).
• 80% rated physical surroundings and 92% rated nursing care as adequate or better; however, 44% found nurse numbers and 46% found physiotherapist numbers inadequate.

Conclusions:

• Visitor frequency is influenced by accessibility and cost, suggesting a need for community-integrated facilities.
• While care quality is generally perceived positively, inadequate staffing, particularly nurses, is a significant concern.
• Increasing nursing staff numbers is recommended as the most impactful measure to enhance patient quality of life.