The quality framework for nursing home care : an exploratory study towards understanding the implementation of person-centred healthcare: Which factors are involved and how do clients experience care?

Since the introduction of the Healthcare Facilities Quality Act (Kwaliteitswet zorginstellingen) in 1996, the improvement of quality in nursing home organisations has not stopped. Different frameworks for responsible care, quality documents and monitors by the Inspection for Healthcare and Youth eventually led to the introduction of the Quality Framework for Nursing Home Care in January 2017. The quality framework is mainly focused on the client. The focus of this study therefore is on the following subject of the quality framework: ‘Person-centred healthcare and support’. This study’s aim was to find out which factors are facilitating or impeding caregivers in the implementation of person-centred healthcare, and how person-centred healthcare is perceived by clients. The study concluded ‘professional obligation’ and ‘personal benefits’ are two facilitating factors for person-centred healthcare that are present in all studied nursing homes. Factors that were absent in all nursing homes are: communication, having a program champion, involvement of the network and having attention for patient characteristics. Results of this study cannot imply these factors are related to the implementation of person-centred healthcare. Future research is needed to validate whether factors are related to the implementation of person-centred healthcare and whether recommendations are applicable for all Dutch nursing homes.