Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
The aims of the survey were: (a) to assess the reaction of elderly residents in LA Homes to their present environment and to interpret the practical implications this may have for planners and architects; (b) to explore the attitudes of old people to residential care and identify consumer preferences, or aspirations for environmental improvement; (c) to investigate attitudes and experiences of staff and to look at the impact of physical environment of the home on working life; (d) to determine the way in which quality of life may be influenced by a range of factors relating to the physical environment, institutional environment and resident mix (e) to determine the importance of locational factors. An associated qualitative dataset, <i>Consumer Study in Old People's Homes : Four Homes Studied in Detail</i>, is available via Qualidata at the University of Essex.
Main Topics:
The main variables studied were: (a) Physical environment, e.g. building features, floors, facilities, room sizes, etc. (b) Resident characteristics, e.g. age, sex, mental/physical state, length of stay, reasons for admission, residents' preferences for aspects of the physical environment, measures of well-being, resident views on staff. (c) Staff characteristics, e.g. age, sex, position, reasons for taking job, qualifications, job satisfaction, measures of well-being, preferences for aspects of physical environment, working practice, routines. Nine files of data are held. In addition to the description of the physical environment (2 files) and the resident and staff interviews, others include: (i) Interviewer schedule (questions concerning home atmosphere, answered by interviews; (ii) Population and (iii) Sample files containing information from 872 homes (Population) and 100 homes (Sample) in 29 Local Authority areas (data on number of beds, daycare places, short-stay group living, location, resident characteristics, regime measures; (iv) Resident listing containing data concerning characteristics of all residents in the 100 homes; (v) Staff listings with characteristics of all senior and care staff in the sample of 100 homes. Measurement Scales Adjustment to ageing, worry and dissatisfaction since coming to the home, mental/physical state was measured using Crichton Royal Behavioural Rating Scale. (Wilkin, D. and Jolley, D., <i>Behavioural problems among old people in geriatric wards, psychogeriatric wards and residential homes, 1976-78</i>, University Hospital of South Manchester Psychogeriatric Unit Research Section Research Report 1). Other Scales used were: (i) a modified version of Abrams' Adjustment to Ageing Scale (Abrams, M., <i>Beyond three score and ten</i> published by Age Concern, England, 1978); (ii) measures of anxiety after Srole, L. et al in <i>Mental health in the metropolis : the midtown Manhattan study</i> (New York: McGraw Hill, 1962); (iii) Bradburn's Affect Balance Scale from Bradburn, N.M., <i>The structure of psychological well-being</i> (Chicago: Aldine, 1969).
Multi-stage stratified random sample
three stages (local authorities, homes and residents).
Face-to-face interview
Observation
