National Consumer Study in One Hundred Local Authority Old Peoples Homes, 1980

<P>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</P><br>The aims of the survey were:<br>
(a) to assess the reaction of elderly residents in LA Homes to their present environment and to interpret the practical implications this may have for planners and architects;<br>
(b) to explore the attitudes of old people to residential care and identify consumer preferences, or aspirations for environmental improvement;<br>
(c) to investigate attitudes and experiences of staff and to look at the impact of physical environment of the home on working life;<br>
(d) to determine the way in which quality of life may be influenced by a range of factors relating to the physical environment, institutional environment and resident mix<br>
(e) to determine the importance of locational factors.<br>
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An associated qualitative dataset, &lt;i&gt;Consumer Study in Old People's Homes : Four Homes Studied in Detail&lt;/i&gt;, is available via Qualidata at the University of Essex.<br><B>Main Topics</B>:<BR><br>The main variables studied were:<br>
(a) Physical environment, e.g. building features, floors, facilities, room sizes, etc.<br>
(b) Resident characteristics, e.g. age, sex, mental/physical state, length of stay, reasons for admission, residents' preferences for aspects of the physical environment, measures of well-being, resident views on staff.<br>
(c) Staff characteristics, e.g. age, sex, position, reasons for taking job, qualifications, job satisfaction, measures of well-being, preferences for aspects of physical environment, working practice, routines.<br>
Nine files of data are held. In addition to the description of the physical environment (2 files) and the resident and staff interviews, others include: (i) Interviewer schedule (questions concerning home atmosphere, answered by interviews; (ii) Population and (iii) Sample files containing information from 872 homes (Population) and 100 homes (Sample) in 29 Local Authority areas (data on number of beds, daycare places, short-stay group living, location, resident characteristics, regime measures; (iv) Resident listing containing data concerning characteristics of all residents in the 100 homes; (v) Staff listings with characteristics of all senior and care staff in the sample of 100 homes.<br>
Measurement Scales<br>
Adjustment to ageing, worry and dissatisfaction since coming to the home, mental/physical state was measured using Crichton Royal Behavioural Rating Scale. (Wilkin, D. and Jolley, D., &lt;i&gt;Behavioural problems among old people in geriatric wards, psychogeriatric wards and residential homes, 1976-78&lt;/i&gt;, University Hospital of South Manchester Psychogeriatric Unit Research Section Research Report 1).<br>
Other Scales used were:<br>
(i) a modified version of Abrams' Adjustment to Ageing Scale (Abrams, M., &lt;i&gt;Beyond three score and ten&lt;/i&gt; published by Age Concern, England, 1978);<br>
(ii) measures of anxiety after Srole, L. et al in &lt;i&gt;Mental health in the metropolis : the midtown Manhattan study&lt;/i&gt; (New York: McGraw Hill, 1962);<br>
(iii) Bradburn's Affect Balance Scale from Bradburn, N.M., &lt;i&gt;The structure of psychological well-being&lt;/i&gt; (Chicago: Aldine, 1969).