Abstract
A major goal of implementing person-centered care (PCC) practices in nursing homes is to improve residents’ quality of life (QOL). However, to date no large-scale studies have evaluated the effects of adopting PCC practices on resident QOL. Existing studies that examined this relationship have had small sample sizes, lacked a standardized definition of PCC, and did not clearly differentiate between homes at varying levels of PCC adoption. Studies have also shown that objective measures of quality (e.g., clinical outcomes) can differ from residents’ reported satisfaction with quality. This study filled these evidence gaps by evaluating a government sponsored program to promote PCC in nursing homes. Residents’ satisfaction with their quality of life, care, and service was assessed in 281 facilities in Kansas spread across 5 objectively determined levels of PCC adoption, ranging from non-adoption to comprehensive adoption. Data from a custom-designed My InnerView survey of satisfaction with quality of life, care, and service were collected face-to-face from residents in participating and non-participating homes and aggregated to the home level. Beta mixed regression models were used to analyze the data, with propensity score adjustment to control for demographic differences among facilities at different levels of adoption. The findings showed that comprehensive, sustained adoption of PCC improved residents’ satisfaction with quality of life and care, but that partial adoption brought relatively few gains over non-adoption. Policymakers and practitioners should consider replicating this program to promote the implementation of PCC practices in nursing homes.