Developing a person-centred care environment aiming to enhance the autonomy of nursing home residents with physical impairments, a descriptive study

BACKGROUND: Enhancing autonomy is important within the context of the care environment in nursing homes. A nursing home is a place for older adults with physical impairments, who need assistance, to live and where staff work who help them to exercise autonomy. Previous research shows that older adults and staff are influenced by the care environment to apply autonomy-enhancing activities. Therefore, organisational policies regarding the care environment seem promising for enhancing autonomy. The aim is to gain a deeper insight into the development and implementation of organisational policies aimed to enhance the autonomy of older adults with physical impairments. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive design was chosen, using two methods. A document study was conducted on the policies, plans and proceedings in two care organisations. Moreover, interviews were conducted with 17 stakeholders involved in the policies, such as managers and members of the client council. The fragments of the 137 documents and 17 verbatim transcripts were coded and deductively categorised into the seven aspects (i.e., power-sharing, supportive organisational systems, appropriate skill mix, potential for innovation and risk-taking, the physical environment, effective staff relationships and shared decision-making systems) of the key domain care environment, as defined in the person-centred practice (PCP) framework developed by McCormack and McCance. RESULTS: The aspect of power-sharing was used the most in the policies of the two participating organisations. The organisations expected much from the implementation of indirect interventions, such as access to the electronic care plan for residents and the development of staff towards self-managing teams. Less attention was paid to interventions in the physical environment, such as the interior of the building and privacy, and the collaboration processes between staff. CONCLUSIONS: The PCP framework poses that all aspects of the key domain care environment are important to develop a person-centred practice. This is not yet the case in practice and the authors therefore recommend using all seven aspects of the care environment in a balanced combination with the other key domains of the PCP framework to achieve person-centred practice and as a result the enhancement of the autonomy of nursing home residents with physical impairments.