Do nursing home residents stay mobile for as long as possible? Do they maintain their independence when carrying out routine everyday tasks and are the care services provided in keeping with the latest standards of knowledge? A research team at the University of Bremen has set out to investigate the measurability of the quality of resident care facilities on the basis of these and further questions. Principal investigators are Prof. Dr. Stefan Görres of the UBC Centre for Gerontology and Long-Term Care Research and Prof. Dr. Heinz Rothgang of the UBC Centre for Social Policy Research. The team responded to a call for tenders issued by the Federal Association of Statutory Heath Insurance Funds (GKV-Spitzenverband), which is coordinating the project. Over a period of 18 months, it will collect and analyse data from 50 care facilities in the federal states of Brandenburg und Baden-Wuerttemberg with a view to facilitating a consumer-friendly comparability of care quality. The contract principals are the contracting parties of the German Social Welfare Code, namely the Federal Association of Statutory Heath Insurance Funds (GKV-Spitzenverband) and federal welfare and residential long-term care associations.
Aspects of quality that have never been assessed until now
The aim of the project is to pilot test 15 care-related indicators, which were first developed by Dr. Klaus Wingenfeld from Bielefeld University and Dr. Dietrich Engels of the ISG Institute for Social Research and Health Policy, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. To this end, data will be collected from approximately 2,000 nursing home residents. “What is crucial is quality, that is, what [services] do elderly people actually receive, what is their health status, and how do they feel?” explained care expert Professor Görres. “Until now this has almost never been assessed; the focus of quality investigations was only on structures and processes in inpatient facilities.”
Priority issues for Bremen Long-Term Care Researchers
According to project coordinator Mathias Fünfstück, pressure sores (decubitus ulcers) are one of the chief indicators of insufficient mobility. Can sores in nursing home residents be prevented? Other questions include serious falls, weight loss, and pain. “We will be working closely with selected professional carers in every inpatient facility,” he explains. In order to coordinate the documentation special software will have to be developed. “The software must be tested for practicability, comprehensiveness and precision”, says Professor Görres. “It may be necessary to make adjustments or modifications.” What is crucial here is that the nursing homes are not blamed for things they cannot do anything about. “If one residence has more bed-bound patients than others then that must be taken into account when the figures for residents with pressure sores are compared,” says Professor Rothgang. “The rules for risk adjustment are still incomplete and will be developed and substantiated in the course of the project.” Ultimately, the outcome should be a field-tested quality measurement tool. This is the third study of major societal and political significance with which the experts from the University of Bremen have been entrusted within a short period of time, and that alone can be seen as a great achievement. As Görres explains, “We are working almost in parallel on a project concerned with mobility in old age.” A further project, which provided the basis for the introduction of the new definition of the need for care, was concluded by Rothgang and Fünfstück a few months ago.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Stefan Görres
Phone: +49 421 218-68901
E-Mail: sgoerres@uni-bremen.de
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Heinz Rothgang
SOCIUM Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy
Mary-Somerville-Straße 3
28359 Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-58557
E-Mail: rothgang@uni-bremen.de
Mathias Fünfstück
