B J Bowers1, B Fibich, N Jacobson. 1. School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, K6/328 Clinical Science Center, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792, USA. bjbowers@facstaff.wisc.edu
Abstract
PURPOSE: This study explored how nursing home residents define quality of care. DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were collected through in-depth interviews and were analyzed using grounded dimensional analysis. RESULTS: Residents defined quality in three ways: (a) Care-as-service residents focused on instrumental aspects of care. They assessed quality using the parameters of efficiency, competence, and value. (b) Care-as-relating residents emphasized the affective aspects of care, defining quality as care that demonstrated friendship and allowed them to show reciprocity with their caregivers. (c) Care-as-comfort residents defined quality as care that allowed them to maintain their physical comfort, a state that required minute and often repetitive adjustments in response to their bodily cues. IMPLICATIONS: Residents' perceptions of care quality have implications for long-term care practice. The integration of these perceptions into quality assurance instruments could improve the usefulness of tools designed to obtain resident input.
PURPOSE: This study explored how nursing home residents define quality of care. DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were collected through in-depth interviews and were analyzed using grounded dimensional analysis. RESULTS: Residents defined quality in three ways: (a) Care-as-service residents focused on instrumental aspects of care. They assessed quality using the parameters of efficiency, competence, and value. (b) Care-as-relating residents emphasized the affective aspects of care, defining quality as care that demonstrated friendship and allowed them to show reciprocity with their caregivers. (c) Care-as-comfort residents defined quality as care that allowed them to maintain their physical comfort, a state that required minute and often repetitive adjustments in response to their bodily cues. IMPLICATIONS: Residents' perceptions of care quality have implications for long-term care practice. The integration of these perceptions into quality assurance instruments could improve the usefulness of tools designed to obtain resident input.