Quality of life in assisted living facilities for seniors: A descriptive exploratory study.
Elham Alomari, Claudia Steinke
PMID 38429879WHAT IT FOUND
Seniors in assisted living tied quality of life to their own suite, family visits, staff relationships, food choices, privacy, and time to adjust.
Poor neighbourhood access and staff shortages were frequent complaints.
Key findings
01Residents' accounts were organised into three themes: physical environment, social environment, and home-like atmosphere.
02Personalized suites and possessions were valued, but residents reported limited window views, outdoor space, and poor access to neighbourhood attractions, sidewalks, and public transportation.
03Family visits and staff relationships were important to residents, while staff shortage was a common complaint; some residents also reported limited meal choices, and most described dependence on others for getting around as a loss of independence.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 17 residents were interviewed, all from two assisted living facilities in one Canadian province, so the themes may not apply to other settings. All participants were cognitively capable, and residents with dementia or Alzheimer's disease were excluded, so the study does not describe quality of life for cognitively impaired residents. All participants were Caucasian, and both facilities lacked ethnic and cultural diversity, which limits variation in older populations. Participants were recruited by convenience and purposive sampling, and the facilities were motivated to learn about service quality, which may affect who agreed to take part. One researcher coded and analysed the data, and qualitative interpretation may be subjective.
Declared interests
The study was funded by Covenant Health Research Centre, Alberta, Canada. The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that assisted living improves quality of life or that changing one feature will cause improvement. The study was qualitative, included 17 cognitively intact residents from two facilities, and reports perceptions rather than effects.