Nursing home placement in Norway : characteristics of older people assigned to placement

To determine the characteristics of older people assigned to nursing home placement and to illuminate the factors emphasised in the assignments, thirty-two home health care leaders in a Norwegian municipality completed a questionnaire regarding their assessment of the levels of functioning of the assigned individuals. These assessments were compared with assessments of individuals who had been placed on a waiting list to receive an assignment and of residents who had already been admitted to a nursing home. The individuals who had received assignments had higher rates of cognitive impairment, memory disturbances, disorientation and psychiatric symptoms compared with the individuals awaiting placement. The individuals with assignments had better motor function and a greater ability to accomplish daily activities without assistance than those in the other two groups. The physical workloads were the lowest for the carers of older people assigned to placement. Individuals without cognitive impairment and with low/worse motor function had to wait longer for nursing home placement than individuals with cognitive impairment. Older people with low/worse motor function required more assistance with their daily activities from informal carers. The implications for nursing are to recognise the physical workloads of carers and the necessity of offering them respite and support.