Personal Stories

Residents’ QOL-SRI experience

Relationship

Mrs. Adams did not feel adjusted to the new nursing home even after three months. The QoL.SRI revealed a low score in the relationship domain. The QoL.CP (care plan) prompted the staff to engage the resident in conversation about her preferred routine in an effort to create a more positive relationship between the resident and staff members. Mrs. Adam’s relationship score increased from baseline to 90 and remained stable at 180 day.

Meaningful activities

Mr. Jones rarely left his room to attend activities. During the QoL.SRI, Mr. Jones stated that he did not have enough to keep him busy in his room. The QoL.CP prompted the activities staff to ask the resident if he would like to have more in-room activities as well as engage in more one-on-one visits with activities staff. Mr. Jones’ baseline assessment failed to register a score for meaningful activities domain. We coded this as a “1” the lowest possible score on the 1-4 scale. After implementing the QoL.CP for 90 days, Mr. Jones was able to discuss his interactions with the activities department with some detail and registered a score for the domain that was close to the facility average.

Security

Mrs. Smith often found herself afraid because she felt the staff spoke harshly to her. The QoL.SRI identified low scores in the security domain. The QoL.CP prompted the staff to speak more slowly to the resident, with a softer tone of voice as well as focusing on positive experiences when working with the resident. Mrs. Smith score in the security domain steadily improved from a poor quality of life range to a positive quality of life range over the 180 day time period.

Comfort and Functional Competence

Mrs. Miller experienced a degenerative physical condition. She was under pain management but the QoL.SRI revealed low scores in the comfort and functional competence domains. During the QoL.SRI, Mrs. Miller discussed other pain relieving techniques that helped her condition. The QoL.CP prompted staff to ask the resident if she would like her pillows adjusted or the height of her bed changed. Though her physical condition continued to decline, her scores for comfort did not decline as drastically over the six month study period as much as control group residents. Mrs. Miller’s functional competence increased slightly from baseline to 90 day, returning to baseline level at the 180 day mark.

Social work staff QOL-SRI experience

Individuality

Mr. Peters served in WWII and was recently admitted to the local nursing home. The QoL.SRI identified a low score in the individuality domain due in part to the fact that Mr. Peters felt that the staff took little interest in his military service and life prior to coming to the nursing home. The QoL.CP prompted the staff social worker to take 10 minutes of her time, three times a week to meet with the resident and talk about his military experience and other meaningful moments in his life. After spending time with the resident and finding out more about his needs and preferences, the staff social worker was able to connect the resident with services provided by the local Veteran’s Association.