Introduction
Studies on the quality of home care services (HCS) offered to persons with dementia (PwD) reveal prevalence of unmet needs and dissatisfaction concerning encounters and lack of relationships with staff. The aim of this study was to enhance the knowledge about the perceptions from PwD regarding dignity and respect in relation to HCS staff over time.
Material and methods
A mixed longitudinal study was designed to study any trend, over the period between 2016 and 2018, and to compare the results between PwD (case) and persons without dementia (control) living at home with HCS. An existing yearly HCS quality assessment survey of the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare was used. Over the study period, 271.915 (PwD = 8.1%) respondents (all aged 65+ years) completed the survey. The focus was on questions concerning dignity and respect. We applied GEE logistic, and cumulative logit regression model to estimate any effects and trends of interest, after controlling for the effect of age, gender, health status, and the amount of HCS hours.
Results
The results showed a significant 3-10% lower odds (and cumulative odds) for PwD to be satisfied on these issues, compared with control individuals. Also, that both groups’ experiences of satisfaction decreased over the years from 2016 to 2018.
Conclusions
Our findings indicate that Swedish HCS will not reach the WHOs global action plan for PwD by 2025. HCS organization needs to shift from a task-oriented system to a person-centered approach by setting each older person in focus.