The relationship of nursing home price and quality of life

TitleThe relationship of nursing home price and quality of life
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsRaes S, Vandepitte S, De Smedt D, Wynendaele H, DeJonghe Y, Trybou J
JournalBMC Health Services Research
Volume20
Issue1
Pagination1-10
Date PublishedNov 9
ISBN Number1472-6963 (Electronic)<br/>1472-6963 (Linking)
Accession Number33161901
Keywords*Quality of Life, Attitude to Health, Belgium, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, InterRAI, Linear Models, Male, Nursing Homes, Nursing Homes/*economics, Ownership type, Price, Quality of Health Care/*economics, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires
Abstract

Background: Knowledge about the relationship between the residents' Quality of Life (QOL) and the nursing home price is currently lacking. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between 11 dimensions of QOL and nursing homes price in Flemish nursing homes.Methods: The data used in this cross-sectional study were collected by the Flemish government from years 2014 to 2017 and originates from 659 Flemish nursing homes. From 2014 to 2016, data on the QOL of 21,756 residents was assessed with the InterRAI instrument. This instrument contains 11 QOL dimensions. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the research question.Results: The multiple linear regressions indicated that a 10 euro increase in the daily nursing home price is associated with a significant decrease (P < 0.001) of 0.1 in 5 dimensions of QOL (access to services, comfort and environment, food and meals, respect, and safety and security). Hence, our results indicate that the association between price and QOL is very small. When conducting a subgroup analysis based on ownership type, the earlier found results remained only statistically significant for private nursing homes.Conclusion: Our findings show that nursing home price is of limited importance with respect to resident QOL. Contrary to popular belief, our study demonstrates a limited negative effect of price on QOL. Further research that includes other indicators of QOL is needed to allow policymakers and nursing home managers to improve nursing home residents' QOL.

DOI10.1186/s12913-020-05833-y
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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

PMCID

PMC7650205