Gerontological Nursing Interventions Research Center (GNIRC)

Title: The Quality of Life of Frail Elders in Elder Housing with Services
Principal Investigator: Victoria Grando, PhD, RN
Study Site: University of Missouri-Columbia

Abstract
Many aspects of nursing home life negatively impact residents' quality of life. Consequently, it is vital to develop and test new models of long-term-care. The proposed descriptive-exploratory study addresses this important issue by examining the quality of life and systems of care of frail elders in an innovative long-term-care setting - elder housing with services that provides 24 hour a day home health care on premises. A Focused Ethnographic Design will be used to achieve the research aims, which include the following: Aim 1 To describe and analyze frail elders' perceptions of their quality of life in elder housing with services, and Aim 2 To describe the systems of care for frail elders in elder housing with services including: (a) formal-care, informal-care, and self-care behaviors; (b) support behaviors; and (c) coping behaviors. The sample will include frail elders in an elder housing with services facility (n=25). Data collection methods will include participant observations and interviews. Data will be collected over an 8-month period using interview guides and observation guides. Interviews will be tape recorded and transcribed. Observations will be recorded into field journals. Content analysis will be ongoing with data collection, will be used to identify categories and subcategories that will provide answers to the research questions, and will be managed using NUD*IST 4 computer software. An anticipated extension of the proposed project is an intervention study "Partners: Nurse Case Management Program" that would develop and test nursing interventions aimed at helping frail elders functioning safely in the community.