Person-centredness and its association with resident well-being in dementia care units

Aim To report a study of the relationship between person-centred care and ability to perform activities of daily living, quality of life, levels of pain, depressive symptoms, and agitated behaviours among residents with dementia in residential care facilities. Background Standardized measurements of person-centred care have not previously been used to investigate the relationship between person-centred care and well-being for residents with dementia in residential aged care units. Design This study had a cross-sectional design. Method Staff and resident surveys were used in a sample of 1261 residents with dementia and 1169 staff from 151 residential care units throughout Sweden. Valid and reliable scales were used to measure person-centredness and ability to perform activities of daily living, quality of life, levels of pain, depressive symptoms, and agitated behaviours in residents. All data were collected in May 2010. Findings Person-centred care was correlated with residents' ability to perform activities of daily living. Furthermore, residents in units with higher levels of person-centred care were rated as having higher quality of life and better ability to perform activities of daily living compared with residents in units with lower levels of person-centred care. Conclusions There seems to be a relationship between person-centredness, residents' ability to perform activities of daily living, and residents' quality of life. Further studies are needed to explain the variation of person-centredness between units and the extent and ways this might impact on the quality of life and well-being of frail older residents with cognitive impairments in clinical practice.