The association of care satisfaction and COVID-19 contact restrictions with quality of life in long-term care homes residents in Germany: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Quality of life (QoL) is a widely recognised outcome in residents of long-term care homes. However, little is known about the impact of care satisfaction on QoL. The aim of this study was to assess the association between care satisfaction and QoL in residents of long-term care homes. Additionally, we were able to assess the impact of the Covid-19 contact restrictions on QoL. Methods We applied a cross-sectional study in N = 40 long-term care homes in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. Using regression models, we analysed the association between QoL (operationalised through the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment—Old Module [WHOQOL-OLD]) and self-rated nursing care satisfaction. The date on which the questionnaire was completed was used to calculate whether the completion was prior the emergence of the Covid-19 contact restrictions. Further potential confounders were included in the analysis. Results N = 419 residents of long-term care homes participated. Explained variance of QoL was low in our models at 2 to 16%. Self-rated nursing care satisfaction was the strongest predictor of QoL and positively linked to the following subdimensions of QoL: autonomy; past, present and future activities; social participation; intimacy. The Covid-19 contact restrictions were negatively linked to social participation. Conclusion Nursing care satisfaction was associated with QoL in residents of long-term care homes. Future research should focus on the direction of the association and different aspects of nursing care satisfaction with QoL. Furthermore, we showed the impact of contact restriction during the Covid-19 lockdown on social participation. Trial Registration WHO UTN: U1111–1196-6611; DRKS-ID: DRKS00012703 (Date of Registration in DRKS: 2017/08/23).

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospice and palliative care in nursing homes—A qualitative study from a multiperspective view

“…Although there are few studies about pandemic effects on palliative care in Germany [29][30][31][32][33][34][35] as well as pandemic effects on nursing homes in Germany [20,24,[36][37][38][39][40], at the time of article publication, no studies could be found on hospice and palliative care in German nursing homes under pandemic conditions. In particular, there are no studies in which the different perspectives of employees, residents and their relatives are combined.…”

Factors Associated With the Quality of Life of Nursing Home Residents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…13 Although these factors decrease a person's QoL, they do not directly assess QoL. Three small-scale cross-sectional studies [14][15][16] assessed NH residents' QoL directly during the COVID-19 pandemic, but none of them included the facilities' COVID-19 exposure or variables affected by COVID-19 exposure (eg, staff burnout) in their analyses. Another cross-sectional study 17 assessed the impact of COVID-19 on NH residents' QoL, using a COVID-19especific questionnaire (COV19eQoL 18 ).…”