Gerontology & Geriatric Research

Abstract

The Relationship between Health-Related Quality of Life and Care Dependency among Nursing Home Residents in Germany: A Longitudinal Study

Manuela Tabali, Thomas Ostermann, Elke Jeschke, Theo Dassen and Cornelia Heinze

Nursing home staff should assist residents in achieving better health-related quality of life (HRQOL). HRQOL has become an increasingly important means of assessing the individual’s needs in health care. Up to date assessment of the care dependency of the residents is a standard means of knowing the residents’ care needs in nursing homes in Germany. We aimed at evaluating changes in the HRQOL of nursing home residents and the relationship between HRQOL and care dependency.

Methods: A prospective study was conducted in eleven nursing homes (72 residents). HRQOL was measured at admission and after twelve weeks using the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) in the domains “Physical Mobility”, “Energy”, “Pain”, “Social Isolation”, “Emotional Reaction” and “Sleep”. Care dependency was evaluated using the Care Dependency Scale.

Results: HRQOL in the domain “Physical Mobility” improved significantly in 55.6% of the residents (p=0.002). A significant decrease was found in the domain “Emotional Reaction” in 54.2% of the residents (p=0.047). Residents with constant or higher values in their “Emotional Reaction” (worse HRQOL in these domain) at T1 compared to T0 were less cognitively impaired than residents with an improved (better HRQOL) “Emotional Reaction”. Care dependency improved significantly in the study period. No correlation between HRQOL and care dependency was found.

Conclusion: As there is no correlation between HRQOL and care dependency over the study period, the residents’ HRQOL should be evaluated in regular intervals which can be important in drawing conclusions about possible undiscovered needs from the resident’s perspective. Assessing the changes from the resident’s perspective supports the nursing home staff to assist residents in achieving better HRQOL.