Quality of life in people living with dementia in a long-term care facility

Abstract

Quality of life (QoL) is slowly becoming one of the most substantial outcomes in older persons with dementia (Keating & Gaudet, 2011). Persons with dementia do not only reside in the community, some of them are also found in long-term care (LTC) facilities. Up to two-thirds of residents in long-term care have some type of dementia (Matthews & Dening, 2002). Therefore, understanding the QoL of a person living with dementia particularly in long-term care will ensure that the care being provided is always person-centered (Moyle et al., 2011). The aims of this study were to conduct a broad literature review to better recognise the factors that are associated with the QoL of persons with dementia in a LTC facility. Moreover, this study focused on measuring the QoL of older persons with dementia living in dementia-friendly wards in a long-term care facility in Malta and also evaluate the factors associated to it. For the purpose of this study, older persons with dementia will be referred to as participants even though the feedback related to them was obtained through their nurses and not through them directly. To achieve this, a quantitative cross-sectional survey design was adopted. The QoL of the participants was measured using the QUALID scale together with measuring the presence of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) by the use of the BEHAVE-AD rating scale. This was done through questionnaires administered as interviews with nurses who work with dementia residents, ie. the participants. Additional data was gathered from the patients personal files such as their age, gender, mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score and Barthel Index score. The mean QoL score of the participants was 22.14. Sociodemographic characteristics, which include age and gender, were not found to be significantly associated with the QoL of the participants. A higher level of functional dependency and higher presence of BPSD were associated with a lower QoL. The participants’ cognitive abilities and severity of dementia was found to be negatively associated with their QoL when analysed on their own, however, no significant association was found when they were analysed with other factors. The findings showed that the participants had a moderate QoL. Moreover, the presence of BPSD and the functional dependency of the participants are the most important predictors of their QoL. This indicates that LTC facilities should focus on improving and maintaining the functional status of the participants as well as reducing the presence of BPSD.