Dementia specific care structures in nursing homes-Study protocol of a telephone-based survey study in a nationwide random sample

Aim To describe a study protocol for a survey study in German nursing homes that (1) plans to enhance a typology of care units (2) and investigates the association between different care unit types and the provision of dementia-specific interventions based on a stratified randomized sample. Background Many nursing homes in Germany provide Dementia Special Care Units. Existing definitions often do no justice to the complexity of their context. In this study, we define context as structural and organizational variables. It is necessary to define an empirical based set of indicators to characterize care units with respect to dementia care. Design Observational survey study with a cross-sectional design. Methods We will use a stratified random nationwide sample of 160 German nursing homes. Stratification variables are federal state and the existence of a Dementia Special Care Unit. The sampling frame from which the participating nursing homes are selected is a list with the total population of German nursing homes (n = 11.658). Data will be gathered on the level of the nursing homes and one of their care units via computer-assisted telephone interviews with a standardized questionnaire. The distribution of the assessed variables (contextual characteristics) will be described in absolute and relative frequencies for the whole sample in the first step in order to describe dementia-specific care structures. In the second step, factor analysis of mixed data (FAMD) with hierarchical clustering (HC) will be applied to analyze relationships between variables. The study was ethically approved in October 2018. Discussion The typology can be used in future studies to define the context of care units in nursing homes. This may improve the interpretation of findings from future studies that investigated interventions in nursing homes. Impact The typology will visualize and describe the complexity of contextual characteristics of several care units.

Automated summary

The study protocol aims to develop a typology of care units in German nursing homes and investigate the relationship between different types of care units and dementia-specific interventions. A nationwide sample of 160 German nursing homes will be surveyed to gather data on contextual characteristics and analyze relationships between variables, with the goal of improving future studies on interventions in nursing homes.