Family Caregiver - Nursing Home Placement of Relative With Dementia

If you have been a regular reader of my blog here, then you know that I am not a fan of placement of care recipients in nursing home environments. There are times, however, when it might be the only option and because of that knowledge my interest was caught by a 2004 study in the Journals of Gerontology titled "Family Caregiver Satisfaction With the Nursing Home After Placement of a Relative With Dementia"

The study examined the satisfaction of the family caregiver after placement of the care recipient Alzheimer disease or a related dementia in a nursing home.

The study involved 285 family caregivers and the determination was reached that "If family satisfaction is to be achieved, family presence in a nursing home needs to give caregivers a sense of positive involvement and influence over the care of their relative." Otherwise, the study determined that "Only one caregiver characteristic (work participation) and one organizational resource (rural/urban location) predict satisfaction."

I might be biased by my own experiences with nursing homes, but what I'm getting from that is that caregivers that place their loved one in a nursing home are only likely to be satisfied with the nursing home in the case of their ability to return to work and only if the nursing home is in a rural area which would likely provide a more relaxed and stress reduced experience for both the caregiver and the care recipient. Family caregivers also want to feel like they are still part of the caregiving process and have the ability to assist with the needs of their loved one.

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Tornatore, Jane B., Grant, Leslie A.
Family Caregiver Satisfaction With the Nursing Home After Placement of a Relative With Dementia
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2004 59: S80-88