Person-centred practice and the use of technology in nursing homes – an intervention study to improve services and everyday life for older people living in nursing homes and their relatives, and healthcare personnel’s job satisfaction (PSOTEK)

About the project- Background and purpose

The Dementia Plan 2020 states that service offerings must be tailored and based on the individual’s wishes, interests and habits.  People with dementia should be met with understanding and respect, and both people with dementia and their relatives should receive support and guidance with regards to their care.  Care 2020 decribes a health and care service that supports each individual health recipient in taking care of their basic needs, as well as allows them the opportunity to live an active and good life in a residential community with others. 

Prior research conducted by Brendan McCormack described the concept of person-centered care in nursing and health care work¹. He suggested that person-centered care could provide a more therapeutic relationship between patients, their relatives and health professionals by seeing them as equal partners in the care decisions and health plan¹. In addition, person-centered care has previously been associated with increased health service quality and satisfaction, and one study showed that the introduction of systematic person-centered measures contributed to increased quality of health services from the patient’s perspective.

The purpose of this project is therefore to contribute to a higher-quality of daily life for residents in a nursing home, as well as to increase involvement, understanding and satisfaction from relatives, employees and students through the introduction of person-centered care and security- and coping-creating technology.

Goals of project

The project includes residents from a residential and activity center specifically for people with dementia, their relatives, employees and students, as well as residents and employees of a reinforced unit for people with dementia at a nursing home.  The purpose of the project is to increase the quality of service experienced by residents in nursing homes, to increase competence in the practice of person-centered care, to increase understanding and competence in the application of technology, to raise job satisfaction among employees in nursing homes as well as to strengthen competence with person-centered care and the quality of clinical practice internships for students.

The Outcome Goals for the project include:

1. Residents experience a high quality of health care in congruence with a reduction in challenging behavior.
2. Relatives participate more in the person-centered care of the resident and experience a positive outcome from this involvement
3. Employees gain competence and mastery in person-centered care and in security- and mastery-creating technology, thus increasing positive psychosocial work environment experiences and job satisfaction.
4. New routine daily practices to facilitate person-centered care are introduced and implemented.  These practices include: life history interviews, «one-on-one» contact, interdisciplinary, skin and risk assessments for pressure ulcers and wounds
5. Introduction of security-creating technology with improved safety for the residents
6. Higher satisfaction among students in their clinical practice experiences through increased knowledge, competence and practical application of person-centered care and security-creating technology. 

Project’s timeline

01.01.2020 – 31.07.2022

Project Type/Financing

This clinical research study receives financial support through collaborative funding provided by the Høgskolen in Østfold.

Collaboration Partners

• Department of health and welfare, Østfold
• Bergheim bo- og aktivitetssenter, Halden kommune
• USHT-Østfold
• Karlstads universitet
• OsloMet
• Edwin Ruuds omsorgssenter

Publications/Relevant Links

1. McCormack, B., McCance, T. V. (2006). Development of a framework for person-centered nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 56(5), 472-479.