Family Satisfaction With Nursing Home Care

• Published in: Research on aging 2017-03, Vol.39 (3), p.418-442
• Main Authors: Shippee, Tetyana P, Henning-Smith, Carrie, Gaugler, Joseph E, Held, Robert, Kane, Robert L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cross-Sectional Studies; Customer satisfaction; Families & family life; Family - psychology; Female; Health care delivery; Health Personnel; Homes for the Aged; Humans; Long-Term Care; Male; Nursing Homes; Patient Satisfaction - statistics & numerical data; Quality of Life - psychology; Quality of service; Research methods
• ISSN: 0164-0275; 1552-7573
• DOI: 10.1177/0164027515615182

This article explores the factor structure of a new family satisfaction with nursing home care instrument and determines the relationship of resident quality of life (QOL) and facility characteristics with family satisfaction. Data sources include (1) family satisfaction interviews ( n = 16,790 family members), (2) multidimensional survey of resident QOL ( n = 13,433 residents), and (3) facility characteristics ( n = 376 facilities). We used factor analysis to identify domains of family satisfaction and multivariate analyses to identify the role of facility-level characteristics and resident QOL on facility-mean values of family satisfaction. Four distinct domains were identified for family satisfaction: "care," "staff," "environment," and "food." Chain affiliation, higher resident acuity, more deficiencies, and large size were all associated with less family satisfaction, and resident QOL was a significant (albeit weak) predictor of family satisfaction. Results suggest that family member satisfaction is distinct from resident QOL but is associated with resident QOL and facility characteristics.