Table 1.

Physical, social and organizational characteristics: traditional nursing homes vs. small-scale living facilities.

	Traditional nursing home	Small-scale living facility
Physical	- Large-scale wards (>20 residents) - Long corridors - Institutional character	- Small units (6 – 8 residents) - Homelike character, based on a archetype house
Social	- Many fellow residents and nursing staff working at one ward	- Emphasis on family situation - Residents form a group - Nursing staff is part of the household
Organizational	- more 'Top-down': organization/nursing home decides daily routine - Task-differentiation: many different functions and staff	- more 'bottom-up': residents and family caregivers have a large influence on daily routine - Nursing staff have integrated tasks: i.e. medical, personal care, activities and household