Person-centred environment and care for residents with dementia: A cost-effective way of improving quality of life and quality of care?
Key objective
The aims of this study are to determine the separate and combined effects of providing person-centred care (PCC) and modifying the physical dementia care environment (person-centred environment design (PCE) on the QOL and Quality of Care (QOC) of aged care residents with dementia and to undertake an economic evaluation off PCC and PCE
The study commenced in February, 2009 after a four month training period for all research staff, which was conducted in four unrelated dementia care units in Sydney, NSW from 1 August 2008. To recruit suitable dementia care sites 79 dementia care units located in 79 separate aged care homes within a 300 km radius of Sydney, NSW, were screened for inclusion with the PCECAT by Research Assistants 1, 2 and the EAT assessment tools by Research Assistant 3, under supervision of three of the CIs. The 40 homes with the lowest scores on PCECAT (care quality) and EAT (environment quality) and therefore, able to most benefit from the study interventions, were deemed eligible for inclusion. The 40 eligible dementia care units were randomly allocated into the 4 Intervention arms, Person-Centred Care (PCC), Person Centred Environment (PCE), PCC and PCE in combination, and Usual Care and Environment (UC, UE). To help ensure comparability of the intervention and usual care sites with respect to baseline characteristics, sites were matched according to the following criteria: geographical location, size of care unit, profit/not for profit status, and dementia/non-dementia specific orientation. Research Assistants 4, 5, 6 and 7 administered the baseline and outcome data for stage 1 (Pre-Test), which concluded in December 2009. Post-Test data collection for all measures commenced in January 2010 and was completed in 2011. Data analysis has commenced.
Funding source
NHMRC Dementia project grant
CHERE staff
Marion Haas, Richard Norman, Patsy Kenny
Collaborators
Lynn Chenoweth1, Jane Stein-Parbury1, Laurel Hixson1, Ian Forbes2, Richard Fleming2, Madeleine King3, Georgina Luscombe3, Henry Brodaty4
1. Faculty of Nursing Midwifery and Health, UTS
2. Faculty of Design, Building and Architecture, UTS
3. University of Sydney
4. UNSW
