Enhancing the quality of life of the elderly in residential care feasibility of a risk management and strengths based intervention

Abstract

The increasing population of the elderly all over the world, coupled with a shifting social dynamic that no longer places the family as the primary caregiver, calls for improved aged-care systems in the community. This has led to a surge in alternative agencies of caregiving, like Elderly Care Homes. This study explores the prevalent risks in residential Elderly care Homes in Thrissur District of Kerala, and the feasibility of a risk management and strengths-based intervention to enhance the quality of life of the elderly in residential care. In the first phase of the study, a comprehensive risk assessment was carried out in 62 care homes. A scoping review was carried out to explore how the quality of life of the elderly is affected by risk factors. In the second phase, using a pre-test post- test comparison model, an interventional study was carried out with the residents in one elderly care home as the experimental group and the residents in another home as the comparison group. The intervention module was prepared using a risk management and strengths-based approach, and the quality of life of the residents was measured by the WHOQOL100 tool. The first phase of the study identified 19 most common risk factors in the residential care homes. It was observed that while care homes largely adhered to basic safety protocols, risks associated with quality of life were not managed on a priority basis. In the second phase, the total Quality of Life index in the experimental home increased from 3.28 before the intervention to 4.19 after the intervention, with significant increases in all the 6 domains of the WHOQOL. The QoL values for the comparison group in the same time period, showed a slight decline. The study concludes that a risk management and strengths-based intervention is feasible in residential care homes for the elderly and proves that it is effective in enhancing the quality of life of the elderly in residential care.