Journal of Alzheimers Disease & Parkinsonism
Open Access

Research Article

Functional Status, Behaviour and Social Interaction of Residents with Dementia Living in Small-Scale and Traditional Long-Term Care Settings in the Netherlands and Belgium

Alida H.P.M. de Rooij^1*, Katrien G. Luijkx², Juliette Schaafsma³, Peggy M.J. Emmerink⁴, Jos M.G.A. Schols⁵ and Anja G. Declercq⁶

¹De Kievitshorst Care Center, De Wever, Beneluxlaan 101, 5042 WN, Tilburg, The Netherlands, and Tilburg University, Tranzo Department, Warandelaan 2, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands

²Tranzo Department, Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands

³Department of Humanities, Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands

⁴De Kievitshorst Care Center, De Wever, Beneluxlaan 101, 5042 WN, Tilburg, The Netherlands

⁵Department of General Practice and Department of Health Services Research, Maastricht University Caphri, PO Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands

⁶Department of Lucas, K.U. Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 39, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

Corresponding Author:

Alida H.P.M. de Rooij
Managing Director of De Kievitshorst Care Center/De Wever
Beneluxlaan 101, 5042 WN
Tilburg, The Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)135 312737
E-mail: I.d.Rooij@dewever.nl

Received date: February 16, 2012; Accepted date: May 07, 2012; Published date: May 09, 2012

Citation: de Rooij AHPM, Luijkx KG, Schaafsma J, Emmerink PMJ, Schols JMGA, et al. (2012) Functional Status, Behaviour and Social Interaction of Residents with Dementia Living in Small-Scale and Traditional Long-Term Care Settings in the Netherlands and Belgium. J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism 2:106. doi:10.4172/2161-0460.1000106

Copyright: © 2012 de Rooij AHPM, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Study background: The aim of this study was to examine how residents with dementia living in small-scale and traditional long-term care settings in the Netherlands and Belgium differ in terms of activities of daily living, behavioural problems, depression, use of restraints, psychotropic medication, social engagement and visiting frequency of relatives. Methods: The study had a longitudinal design with a time interval of one year. Participants were 179 residents with dementia in Dutch small-scale (N=51) and traditional (N=51), and Belgian small-scale (N=47) and traditional (N=30) care settings. Data were obtained by professional caregivers using validated observational measurement instruments. Results: Results show few differences between residents in small-scale and traditional settings in the two countries. In the Netherlands, residents in small-scale settings were more socially engaged and better able to perform activities of daily living compared to residents in traditional settings. In Belgium, residents in small-scale settings were also better able to perform activities of daily living, and showed fewer depressive symptoms than residents in traditional settings. Over time, activities of daily living decreased in residents of both small-scale and traditional settings in both countries. Social engagement also decreased in both countries among residents in small-scale settings but remained stable among residents in traditional settings. Furthermore, behavioural problems decreased over time in traditional settings in both countries, but remained stable in small-scale settings. Conclusions: Relatively few differences were found between small-scale and traditional settings in the two countries as regards residents’ social engagement, activities of daily living, depression and behavioural problems. The assumption made in policy and practice, however, is that living in small-scale settings is better for residents with dementia. To better understand why small-scale settings may not always be more beneficial for residents compared to traditional settings, future research should examine the patterns found in this study in more depth

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