| Learning Objective #1: Discuss the benefits of social model care units for older adults with dementia | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Discuss family satisfaction with care and staff satisfaction with the care unit environment |
Purpose: To evaluate the first two years of the demonstration project, an interdisciplinary team of researchers investigated the impact of organizational, programmatic, and environmental factors on resident health and well-being, staff satisfaction, and family satisfaction.
Methods: Methods used in this longitudinal study included structured environmental assessments, structured observation of resident activities, interviews with administrators and direct care staff, surveys mailed to families, and telephone interviews with family members. To measure resident health and well-being, de-identified resident data from the demonstration units was obtained quarterly from the special care units' Minimum Data Set (MDS) forms and was compared with statewide data from the Missouri MDS database.
Findings: Findings included comparisons of demonstration special care unit environments with non-special care unit environments at the same facilities, family perceptions of care, staff perceptions of the care unit environment and resident needs, and administrators' reflections on the development and operation of social model care units for dementia. Observational data and MDS data for residents at each dementia unit were aggregated to create profiles of each unit. The profiles included comparison to the statewide MDS data. Specific categories of de-identified resident data analyzed and displayed in the findings included behavioral symptoms, activity participation, medication use, health conditions, pain, falls, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations. The findings have implications for the development of dementia units designed on a social model rather than a traditional medical model and are of interest to caregivers of older adults with dementia and to health care policymakers.