Exploring person-centred care in relation to resource utilization, resident quality of life and staff job strain : findings from the SWENIS study

BACKGROUND: A critical challenge facing elderly care systems throughout the world is to meet the complex care needs of a growing population of older persons. Although person-centred care has been advocated as the "gold standard" and a key component of high-quality care, the significance of care utilisation in person-centred units as well as the impact of person-centred care on resident quality of life and staff job strain in nursing home care has yet to be explored. The aim of this study was to explore person-centred care and its association to resource use, resident quality of life, and staff job strain. DESIGN: A cross-sectional national survey. METHODS: Data on 4831 residents and 3605 staff were collected by staff working in nursing homes in 35 randomly selected Swedish municipalities in 2014. Descriptive statistics and regression modelling were used to explore associations between person-centred care and resource use, resident quality of life, and staff job strain. RESULTS: No association was found between person-centred care and resource use. Person-centred care was positively associated with resident quality of life and was negatively associated with staff perception of job strain. CONCLUSION: Person-centred care does not increase resource utilisation in nursing homes, but beneficially impacts resident quality of life and alleviates the care burden in terms job strain among staff

Nursing home managers' descriptions of multi-level barriers to leading person-centred care : a content analysis

Background: Research suggests that person-centred care can be beneficially implemented and sustained, even though barriers remain that prevent uptake in clinical practice. Understanding barriers to person-centred care seems important, as this has an impact on care practices and resident outcomes. Moreover, there is limited knowledge about nursing home managers' descriptions of barriers when leading person-centred care. Objectives: To explore barriers to leading person-centred care as narrated by nursing home managers. Methods: A descriptive qualitative design was used to collect data using individual interviews with 12 nursing home managers in highly person-centred nursing homes. Data were analysed using content analysis. Results: Multi-level barriers to leading person-centred care were identified on the (1) person level, (2) team level and (3) organisational level. Placing professional and family considerations ahead of resident considerations was described as a barrier on the personal level (1). Also, staff's divergent care values, processes, and priorities together with turnover and low foundational knowledge were identified as barriers on the team level (2). On an organisational level (3), constrained finances, functional building design and group level rostering were identified as barriers. Conclusion: Multi-level barriers influence nursing home managers' ability to lead and promote person-centred care. Promoting the development of person-centred practices requires efforts to eliminate barriers on person, team and organisational level. Implications for Practice: Identifying and overcoming barriers at various levels in nursing home care has the potential to promote person-centred practices. This study can inform stakeholders and policymakers of challenges and complexities in person-centred practices. Multi-level strategies are needed to target challenges at person-, team- and organisational level when striving to develop person-centred care

The influence of nursing home managers’ leadership on person-centred care and stress of conscience: A cross-sectional study

Background: Leadership and stress are common concepts in nursing, and this study explores empirically the connection between leadership and stress of conscience in the context of aged care practice. Previous literature has shown that when staff are unable to carry out their ethical liabilities towards the residents, feelings of guilt may occur among staff, which may be an expression of stress of conscience. Although leadership has been described as crucial for staff’s work perceptions of stress as well as for person-centred practices, the influence of nursing home managers’ leadership on stress of conscience among staff and person-centred practices is still not fully explored. This study attempts to address that knowledge gap by exploring the relationship between leadership, person-centred care, and stress of conscience. Methods: This study was based on a cross-sectional national survey of 2985 staff and their managers in 190 nursing homes throughout Sweden. Descriptive statistics and regression modelling were used to explore associations. Results: Leadership was associated with a higher degree of person-centred care and less stress of conscience. A higher degree of person-centred care was also associated with less stress of conscience. The results also showed that leadership as well as person-centred care were individually associated with lower levels of stress of conscience when adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusion: Nursing home managers’ leadership was significantly associated with less staff stress of conscience and more person-centred care. This indicates that a leadership most prominently characterised by coaching and giving feedback, relying on staff and handling conflicts constructively, experimenting with new ideas, and controlling work individually can contribute to less staff stress as well as higher degree of person-centred care provision

Use of heart failure medications in older individuals and associations with cognitive impairment

Background: To achieve the best treatment of heart failure, it is important to use all recommended drugs at their target doses. Given that underuse of medications can occur in individuals with cognitive impairment, we investigated the filled prescriptions and target doses of heart failure medication for older individuals with and without cognitive impairment as well as associated factors. Methods: The study was based on two separate datasets. The first dataset, which was based on data from questionnaires sent to nursing homes in Sweden, included 405 individuals with heart failure. The data were linked with the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register and the National Patient Register to obtain information regarding filled prescriptions of heart failure medications and heart failure diagnoses among the population. In the second dataset, medical records of individuals aged 75 years or older admitted to a hospital in northern Sweden were reviewed and individuals with heart failure were identified. Target doses of heart failure medications were evaluated in 66 individuals who lived at home. Results: Filled prescriptions of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists and loop diuretics were significantly more common in individuals without cognitive impairment (OR 1.087; 95% CI 1.026–1.152, p < 0.05) and (OR 1.057; 95% CI 1.017–1.098, p < 0.05), respectively. There were no significant differences between individuals with and without cognitive impairment in terms of achieving target doses for any of the drug classes. A higher age was associated with fewer filled prescriptions and less ability to reach the target doses of beta blockers (OR 0.950; 95% CI 0.918–0.984, p < 0.05) and (OR 0.781; 95% CI 0.645–0.946, p < 0.05), respectively. Conclusions: Our results suggest that individuals with cognitive impairment are partly undertreated for heart failure in that they had fewer filled prescriptions of important heart medications. Separately, the relatively low proportion of older individuals reaching target doses is an important observation and indicates that treatment of heart failure could be further optimised among older individuals

The significance of nursing home managers' leadership : longitudinal changes, characteristics and qualifications for perceived leadership, person-centredness and climate

Aims and objectives: The aim was to explore changes in nursing home managers' leadership, person-centred care and psychosocial climate comparing matched units in a five-year follow-up and to explore the significance of managers' educational qualifications and the ownership of nursing homes for perceived leadership, person-centred care and psychosocial climate in the follow-up data. Background: Leadership has been described as crucial for person-centred care and psychosocial climate even though longitudinal data are lacking. The significance of managerial leadership, its characteristics, managerial qualifications and ownership of nursing homes for perceived leadership, person-centred care and psychosocial climate also needs further exploration. Design: Repeated cross-sectional study. Methods: This study used valid and reliable measures of leadership, person-centred care, psychosocial climate and demographic variables collected from managers and staff n = 3605 in 2014 and n = 2985 in 2019. Descriptive and regression analyses were used. The STROBE checklist was used in reporting this study. Results: Leadership was still positively significantly associated to person-centred care in a five-year follow-up, but no changes in strength were seen. Leadership was still positively significantly associated with psychosocial climate, with stronger associations at follow-up. Six leadership characteristics increased over time. It was also shown that a targeted education for nursing home managers was positively associated with person-centred care. Conclusions: Leadership is still pivotal for person-centred care and psychosocial climate. Knowledge of nursing home managers' leadership, characteristics and educational qualifications of significance for person-centred delivery provides important insights when striving to improve such services. Relevance to clinical practice: The findings can be used for management and clinical practice development initiatives because it was shown that nursing home managers' leadership is vital to person-centred care practices and improves the climate for both staff and residents in these environments

Exploring the impact of nursing home managers' leadership on staff job satisfaction, health and intention to leave in nursing homes

Aims and Objectives: To explore the impact of nursing home leadership and staffing characteristics on staff job satisfaction, health and intention to leave. Background: The number of older people has outpaced growth in the nursing home workforce worldwide. Identifying predictors with the potential to positively impact staff job satisfaction, health and intentions to leave are important. Leadership of the nursing home manager can be one such predictor. Design: Cross-sectional design. Methods: A sample of 2985 direct care staff in 190 nursing homes in 43 randomly selected municipalities in Sweden completed surveys on leadership, job satisfaction, self-rated health and intention to leave (response rate 52%). Descriptive statistics and Generalised Estimating Equations were conducted. The STROBE reporting checklist was applied. Results: Nursing home managers' leadership was positively related to job satisfaction, self-rated health and low intention to leave. Lower staff educational levels were related to poorer health and lower job satisfaction. Conclusions: Nursing home leadership plays a significant role in the job satisfaction, self-reported health and intention to leave of direct care staff. Low education levels among staff seem to negatively influence staff health and job satisfaction, suggesting that educational initiatives for less-educated staff could be beneficial for improving staff health and job satisfaction. Relevance to clinical practice: Managers seeking to improve staff job satisfaction can consider how they support, coach and provide feedback. Recognising staff achievement at work can contribute to high job satisfaction. One important implication for managers is to offer continuing education to staff with lower or no education, given the large amount of uneducated direct care workers in aged care and the impact this may have on staff job satisfaction and health. No patient or public contribution: No patient or public contribution was required to outcome measures in this study. Direct care staff and managers contributed with data

Longitudinal changes in nursing home leadership, direct care staff job strain and social support in Swedish nursing homes : findings from the U-AGE SWENIS study

Background: Promoting healthy work environment as a manager in nursing homes is important to safeguard staff health and well-being as well as care quality when facing increasing demands. The impact of leadership on staff work environment needs further exploration. Objectives: To describe longitudinal changes in nursing home leadership, direct care staff characteristics, job strain and social support. Methods: This study has a repeated cross-sectional design, a five-year follow-up study. Nursing home staff in 181 corresponding units (n = 1253 in 2014 and n = 1176 in 2019) completed surveys about leadership, staff job strain and social support in a five-year follow-up study. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted. Results: A higher degree of leadership defined by coaching and providing direct feedback to care staff, handling conflicts in a constructive way and having control of the clinical work, was significantly associated with a lower degree of job strain and a higher degree of social support among staff, with stronger associations at follow-up. The proportion of enrolled nurses increased significantly at follow-up. Conclusions: Leadership is increasingly important for staff work environment, especially in times of increased workload and decreasing collegiality and deteriorating work atmosphere at work. Implications for Practice: Stakeholder and policy makers in nursing home care may reflect on how managers' leadership is prioritised in these environments because such leadership is associated with staff job strain and social support. Managers striving to improve the work situation of staff may consider their own role and allow flexibility in how and when the work can be performed