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16 October 2021

Optimal Time Study - factors influencing the decision to move to a care home

New article from the Optimal Time Study published in Health and Social Care in the Community

Cover of Health and Social Care in the Community

Deciding if and when might be the ‘optimal’ time for a person living with dementia to move to a care home is often difficult for the individual, family and practitioners.

In this article in Health and Social Care in the Community, Laura Cole and colleagues describe the outcome of a factorial survey conducted with 100 dementia care practitioners in England. Earlier qualitative interviews had suggested that four factors were in play: (1) Family carers’ ability to support the person with daily activities, (2) amount of support provided by home care workers, (3) level of risk of harm and (4) the person living with dementia's wishes.

Results of the factorial survey reported in the paper indicated that the person with dementia's wishes principally drove most dementia care practitioners' decisions on whether to suggest a move to a care home or stay living at home.

Cole, L., Bisquera, A., Samsi, K., & Manthorpe, J. (2021) Factors affecting dementia care practitioners’ decision-making on moves to a care home for persons living with dementia: A factorial surveyHealth & Social Care in the Community. 

The study was funded by the NIHR School for Social Care Research and led by Dr Kritika Samsi, Senior Research Fellow at the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce. The project page has onward links to other publications from this study.

 

In this story

Samsi 160

Senior Research Fellow

Prof J Manthorpe 160

Professor Emerita of Social Work