In 1987 President Ronald Reagan signed into law the OBRA-87 proposal. At the very heart of OBRA-87 was the effort to create a better quality of life for nursing home residents. Despite this landmark step in nursing home care, 49% of residents have some form of depression (QuickStats 2014). In order to remedy this problem, we must first know what makes some residents satisfied with their lives in nursing homes, while others are not. Based on current literature four common themes occur: environment, physical health, continuity, and social engagement.
Literature Review
Environment
Not surprisingly, it is found that surroundings play a large role in the quality of life of nursing home residents (Garre-Olmo, Lopez-Pousa, Turon-Estrada, Juvinya, Ballester, Vilatta-Franch, 2012; Oudman & Veurink 2014). Temperature, noise, and lighting were three identifiable environmental factors that contributed to quality of life. If any of these factors are off-balance there can be negative behavioral reactions (Garre-Olmo et al., 2012). The Environmental …show more content…
Nursing home residents really thrive on social engagement (Tak, Kedia, Tongumpun, Hong, 2015; Stahi & Simey, 2007; Cahill & Diaz-Ponce, 2011) They want to be involved in things such as crafts, Bingo, and church. They enjoy receiving visitors from volunteer groups. Often times, the residents get involved merely for the social interaction, not the activity itself (Tak et al., 2015) In face-to-face interviews conducted with 61 nursing home residents, when asked what was most important in life, most began discussing their family. These residents were positively affected by family visits. And those that did not often receive family visits, made more depressing comments such as “I have a family but they don’t bother visiting me.” (Cahill & Diaz-Ponce, 2011). Having a family gave residents a sense of belonging and of being needed (Stathi & Simey,
Literature Review
Environment
Not surprisingly, it is found that surroundings play a large role in the quality of life of nursing home residents (Garre-Olmo, Lopez-Pousa, Turon-Estrada, Juvinya, Ballester, Vilatta-Franch, 2012; Oudman & Veurink 2014). Temperature, noise, and lighting were three identifiable environmental factors that contributed to quality of life. If any of these factors are off-balance there can be negative behavioral reactions (Garre-Olmo et al., 2012). The Environmental …show more content…
Nursing home residents really thrive on social engagement (Tak, Kedia, Tongumpun, Hong, 2015; Stahi & Simey, 2007; Cahill & Diaz-Ponce, 2011) They want to be involved in things such as crafts, Bingo, and church. They enjoy receiving visitors from volunteer groups. Often times, the residents get involved merely for the social interaction, not the activity itself (Tak et al., 2015) In face-to-face interviews conducted with 61 nursing home residents, when asked what was most important in life, most began discussing their family. These residents were positively affected by family visits. And those that did not often receive family visits, made more depressing comments such as “I have a family but they don’t bother visiting me.” (Cahill & Diaz-Ponce, 2011). Having a family gave residents a sense of belonging and of being needed (Stathi & Simey,