[The attitude of patients in geriatric rehabilitation towards nursing homes]

For the group of individuals reaching higher age, living arrangements providing care increase in importance. Increasing dependence can lead to a relocation to a nursing home. The attitude towards nursing homes is important in preparing for this event and the psychological response to it but has hardly been studied so far.

The aim of this study was to determine what older people think about and how they evaluate nursing homes depending on their subjective feeling of control, their experiences and on how informed they are.

A total of 150 geriatric rehabilitation patients were interviewed on their attitudes toward nursing homes with a first version of a questionnaire (n = 64) or a revised version (n = 86).

A polarity profile showed a more positive attitude toward nursing homes; however, the participants gave mainly negative statements in a free response format. The majority of the participants had an anxious attitude towards a relocation to a residential home. A stronger feeling of control, a higher level of information, and positive experiences with nursing homes are related to a positive attitude towards the relocation to a nursing home.

Given the named fears, a common low level of information, and a great defensiveness of some participants, it is important to proactively inform older people and to involve them more closely in the decision process for suitable living arrangements. Recent developments towards more reliable quality assessment of nursing homes can be helpful.