Older adults’ views on their person-centred care needs in a long-term care setting in Ireland

Abstract

Background: person-centred care should be responsive to the needs of older adults in long-term care. It is central to collaborative and high-quality healthcare delivery. Aim: to explore the perceptions of older Irish adults aged 65 years of age or more regarding the person-centred climate of the long-term care setting in which they live. Method: a cross-sectional study design using the Person-centered Climate Questionnaire–Patient (PCQ-P) was used to survey 56 older adults in a long-term care setting. Results: overall, residents considered the setting to be hospitable, welcoming, clean and safe; the mean (SD) scale score was 5.39 (0.520). Psychosocial concerns about adapting to living in long-term care environments need to be addressed, particularly among the younger male residents when compared with older male residents (53.8% v 86.7%, P=0.018). Conclusion: older people in long-term care may prioritise different facets of person-centredness to staff. Further research of approaches used in Irish older adult long-term person-centred care delivery is warranted.