Indicators of quality in long-term care facilities.

Quality of care is of particular importance to residents of long-term care facilities because of the permanency of their situation. In this study indicators of quality of care were generated from data obtained at a primary level from those most affected by the care. The critical incident technique was used to identify the indicators as perceived by 52 residents, 58 significant others, and 37 nursing staff in five long-term care facilities in Calgary, Canada. The 14 major indicators so identified are discussed in this paper.