Effectiveness of family interventions in nursing homes. A systematic review

Abstract

La institucionalización en un centro geriátrico supone en muchas ocasiones un acontecimiento estresante, tanto para la persona mayor dependiente como para su familia. Durante el ingreso, especialmente en los primeros meses, la familia puede tener sentimientos de pérdida, tristeza, fracaso o culpabilidad. En este contexto, resulta fundamental el apoyo y orientación de los profesionales del centro, a través de intervenciones efectivas que aborden las necesidades tanto del residente como de su familia.El objetivo de esta revisión sistemática es identificar cuáles son las intervenciones familiares más efectivas para ayudar a las familias durante el proceso de institucionalización en un centro gerontológico.Se han identificado dos tipos de intervenciones: aquellas que se centran en la relación familia-personal sanitario y, las que se enfocan a grupos de apoyo a familiares, siendo estas últimas las más efectivas. Por otro lado, la mayoría de intervenciones tienen un enfoque individual, centrándose en el cuidador principal, sin abordar la unidad familiar. Por último, hay una escasez de artículos de calidad que presenten resultados sobre intervenciones familiares en el ámbito geriátrico, identificándose una ausencia de estos estudios en el contexto español.Palabras clave. Cuidador familiar. Centro geriátrico. Intervenciones. ABsTrACTThe process of nursing home placement can be a stressful event for both the dependent elderly person and the family. During admission, especially the first few months, the family may suffer feelings of loss, sadness, failure and guilt. In this context, support and guidance from health professionals are essential to address the needs of residents and families through effective interventions.The aim of this systematic review is to identify the most effective interventions to help families during the process of institutionalization of a relative in a nursing home.Two types of family interventions were identified: those that focused on family-staff relationship and those that focused on family support groups, the latter being the most effective. On the other hand, most interventions have an individualistic approach, focusing on the primary caregiver. Finally, there is a shortage of quality studies that present the results of family interventions in the geriatric field and also a lack of such studies in the Spanish context.

Social Interventions Targeting Social Relations Among Older People at Nursing Homes: A Qualitative Synthesized Systematic Review

“…One of these systematic reviews focused specifically on animal assisted therapy, 18 and the other review addressed family interventions and not interventions aimed at relations between residents participating in the intervention as this is the focus of this systematic review. 19 We did however go through the references but found none relevant for the scope of this systematic review.…”

Development and Exploration of Psychometric Properties of the Family Adjustment Questionnaire for Admitting an Older Adult to a Nursing Home (CAFIAR)

“…Notwithstanding the abovementioned limitations, CAFIAR seems to be a valid tool with proper psychometric properties, which can serve as support to design and evaluate interventions, taking into account that calls for considering relatives as people in need of assistance are increasingly common. In fact, in the healthcare fields, they have been referred to as hidden patients, while many nursing homes develop intervention programs to facilitate family adjustment to the change in their role as caregivers [ 44 , 45 , 46 ]. In that regard, this paper aims to provide a measure of family adaptation to admitting older adults into a long-term nursing home that facilitates research and allows for its use in designing and evaluating intervention strategies for this population.…”