Preference Consistency: Veteran and Non-Veteran Nursing Home Resident Self-Reported Preferences for Everyday Living.
Kimberly Curyto, Leah M Dockler, Kimberly S Van Haitsma
PMID 32083698WHAT IT FOUND
Nursing home residents' preference ratings were more stable when small score differences were allowed, but exact answers often changed within a week.
Veterans and residents with sensory, cognitive, or functional problems were less consistent.
Key findings
01Average perfect agreement was 0.56 in the VA group and 0.66 in the non-VA group; acceptable agreement was 0.88 in the VA group and 0.95 in the non-VA group, and the VA group was significantly lower.
02Preferences for staff honoring privacy, staff showing respect, and being involved in care discussions were among the most stable in both samples.
03Lower agreement was associated with hearing impairment, vision impairment, lower cognitive scores, distraction, and poorer walking ability.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Small convenience samples from two nursing home settings, so results may not apply to more diverse residents. The two groups were recruited differently, and some VA residents needed a representative to consent, making direct comparison harder. Interviewer ratings were developed by the authors and interrater reliability was not formally assessed. The study did not test diagnoses, medications, religion, or comprehensive cognitive measures that may affect preference reporting. The one-week interval may not show stability over longer periods.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that resident preferences are unreliable. The study found high acceptable agreement when one-point differences were allowed, and it did not test whether preference-based care improves outcomes.