[Shared-housing arrangements for care dependent older persons. Support from family members and volunteers]

Due to growing numbers of older care dependant persons shared-housing arrangements (SHA) were developed as a new approach, especially for those elderly People suffering from dementia. The involvement of family members and volunteers is a core component of the SHA concept. Besides the active involvement in meaningful activities, relatives also often act as legal representatives. Empirical data concerning how frequently family members and volunteers are involved as well as the tasks they pursue is lacking. The aim of the study is to describe and evaluate the involvement of family members and volunteers in SHA. Special Care Units (SCU) are observed in comparison. In january 2009, all identified SHA and SCU in the city of Berlin were included in a cross-sectional survey as part of the DeWeGE-study. The DeWeGE-study was the first one on SHA in the city of Berlin. Data was collected using a written, standardised questionnaire. We collected data related to the frequency and tasks of family members and volunteer involvement as well as to the residents characteristics. 963 residents of 105 SHA and 17 SCU were included. More persons suffer from dementia in SCU than in SHA. SHA offer events to inform relatives and volunteers about their possible involvement less often than SCU. Family members are involved in meaningful activities in around 50 percent of all SHA and SCU. The proportion of family members who are present in the unit at least once per week is significantly higher in SCU than in SHA. No statistically significant difference between SHA and SCU is found regarding the involvement of volunteers. In SHA, legal representatives are more often paid professionals than in SCU. The real involvement of family members and volunteers in SHA does not reflect the conceptual propositions of this care arrangement.