Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T13:09:46.073Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Wives of Institutionalized Elderly Men: What Influences Satisfaction with Care?*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Pam Dawson  and
Carolyn J. Rosenthal
Pam Dawson
Affiliation:
University of Toronto and Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care
Carolyn J. Rosenthal
Affiliation:
McMaster University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper examines, first of all, the levels of satisfaction of wives with the care of their institutionalized elderly husbands and changes in satisfaction over the nine months following the husband's admission to a long-term care facility. Secondly, the paper examines the relationships between satisfaction with care and: (a) the husband's care requirements prior to admission, and (b) wives' physical and psychosocial health following admission. Data are taken from a longitudinal study of wives' responses to the institutionalization of elderly husbands. The subsample in this paper consists of 46 wives who remained in the study nine months after the husband's admission. Wives reported fairly high levels of satisfaction. Changes did not occur over time in overall satisfaction, satisfaction with the arrangements for husband's care, or satisfaction with time for information. A significant decline over time was found, however, with respect to satisfaction with the facility. Pre-admission factors (husbands' need for assistance and wives' perceived burden) showed little relationship to wives' subsequent satisfaction with care. As well, wives' physical health was unrelated to satisfaction. In contrast, wives with better psychosocial health (as indicated by morale, affect, depressive symptoms and social interaction) tended to be more satisfied with care.

Résumé

Cet article examine en premier lieu le niveau de satisfaction des épouses à l'égard des soins de leur mari âgé hébergé en établissement et mesure le même facteur sur les neuf mois qui suivent l'admission de l'époux dans un centre hospitalier de longue durée. Deuxièmement, l'article examine la relation entre la satisfaction vis-à-vis les soins et (a) les soins requis par le mari avant l'admission et (b) la santé physique et psychosociale de l'épouse après l'admission. Les données proviennent d'une étude longitudinale des réactions des épouses à l'hébergement en établissement de leur mari âgé. Le sous-échantillon se compose de 46 épouses qui ont participé à l'étude pendant neuf mois suivant l'admission du mari. Les épouses se sont déclarées passablement satisfaites. Il ne s'est pas produit de modifications d'opinions majeures sur l'ensemble des neuf mois quant à la satisfaction générale, la satisfaction des soins donnés à l'époux ou la satisfaction sur le temps consacré à l'information. Par contre, on a relevé une diminution significative de la satisfaction quant aux installations. Les facteurs précédant l'admission (le besoin de soins par le mari et le fardeau perçu par l'épouse) ne présentaient pas de liens véritables avec la satisfaction des épouses en matière de soins ni avec la santé physique de celles-ci. Cependant, les épouses dont la santé psychosociale était plus élevée (indice mesuré par le moral, l'affect, les symptômes de dépression et l'interaction sociale) étaient généralement plus satisfaites des soins accordés à leur époux.

Keywords

SatisfactionWivesPsychosocial Health.Satisfactionépousessanté-psychosociale.
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , Été/Summer 1996 , pp. 245 - 263
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bowers, B. (1988). Family perceptions of care in a nursing home. Gerontologist, 28, 361–368.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bradburn, N.M. (1969). The Structure of Psychological Weil-Being. Chicago: Aldine.Google Scholar
Brody, E., Dempsey, N., & Pruchno, R. (1990). Mental health of sons and daughters of the institutionalized aged. The Gerontologist, 30, 212–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cleary, P.D., Edgman-Levitan, S., Roberts, M., Moloney, T.W., McMullen, W., Walker, J.D., & Delbanco, T.L. (1991). Patients evaluate their hospital care: A national survey. Health Affairs, 10, 254–267.Google Scholar
Colerick, E., & George, L. (1986). Predictors of institutionalization among caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's Disease. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 34, 493–498.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, J. (1974). National Data Program for the Social Sciences. Chicago: National Opinion Research Center.Google Scholar
Driedger, L., & Chappell, N. (1987). Aging and Ethnicity: Toward an Interface. Toronto and Vancouver: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Fengler, A., & Goodrich, N. (1979). Wives of elderly disabled men: The hidden patients. The Gerontologist, 19, 175–184.Google Scholar
Fitting, M., Rabins, P., Lucas, M.J., & Eastham, J. (1986). Caregivers for dementia patients: A comparison of husbands and wives. The Gerontologist, 26, 248–252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fitzpatrick, R. (1991a). Surveys of patient satisfaction: I — Important general considerations. British Medical Journal, 302, 887–889.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitzpatrick, R. (1991b). Surveys of patient satisfaction: II — Designing a questionnaire and conducting a survey. British Medical Journal, 302, 1129–1132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
George, L., & Gwyther, L. (1986). Caregiver well-being: A multidimensional examination of family caregivers of demented adults. The Gerontologist, 26, 253–259.Google Scholar
Gerber, L. (1983). Ethnicity still matters: Socio-demographic profiles of the ethnic elderly in Ontario. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 15, 60–80.Google Scholar
Greenley, J.R., Young, T.B., & Schoenherr, R.A. (1982). Psychological distress and patient satisfaction. Medical Care, 20, 373–385.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harper, S., & Lund, D.A. (1990). Wives, husbands and daughters caring for institutionalized and noninstitutionalized dementia patients: Toward a model of caregiver burden. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 30, 241–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laitinen, P. (1992). Participation of informal caregivers in the hospital care of elderly patients and their evaluations of the care given: A pilot study in three different hospitals. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 17, 1233–1237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lavizzo-Mourey, R.J., Zinn, J., & Taylor, L. (1992). Ability of surrogates to represent satisfaction of nursing home residents with quality of care. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 40, 39–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawton, P., & Brody, E. (1969). Assessment of older people: Self-maintaining and instrumental activities of daily living. The Gerontologist, 9, 179–186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lebow, J.L. (1983). Similarities and differences between mental health and health care evaluation studies assessing consumer satisfaction. Evaluation and Program Planning, 6, 237–245.Google Scholar
Linn, L.S., & Greenfield, S. (1982). Patient suffering and patient satisfaction among the chronically ill. Medical Care, 20, 425–431.Google Scholar
Linsk, N., Miller, B., Pflaum, R., & Vicik, A. (1988). Families, Alzheimer's disease, and nursing homes. The Journal of Applied Gerontology, 7, 331–349.Google Scholar
Locker, D., & Dunt, D. (1978). Theoretical and methodological issues in sociological studies of consumer satisfaction with medical care. Social Science and Medicine, 12, 283–292.Google Scholar
McGivern, D. (1980). Patient satisfaction scale. In Ward, M. & Linderman, C. (Eds.), Instruments for Measuring Nursing Practice and Other Health Care Variables (Vol. 2). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Montgomery, R. (1982). Impact of institutional care policies on family integration. The Gerontologist, 22, 54–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moss, M.S., & Kurland, P. (1989). Family visiting with institutionalized mentally impaired aged. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 1, 271–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, E.C., Rubin, H.R., Hays, R.D., & Meterko, M. (1990). Response to questionnaire. Medical Care, 28, S18–S22.Google Scholar
Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture. (1981). Mother Tongue Atlas of Metropolitan Toronto (Volume 2). Toronto: Author.Google Scholar
Pascoe, G.C. (1984). Patient satisfaction in primary health care: A literature review and analysis. Evaluation and Program Planning, 6, 185–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, A., Hocking, S., Mott, S., & Riggs, A. (1993). Quality of care in nursing homes from the resident's perspective. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 18, 20–24.Google Scholar
Pratt, C, Schmall, V., Wright, S., & Hare, J. (1987). The forgotten client: Family caregivers to institutionalized dementia patients. In Brubaker, Timothy H. (Ed.), Aging, Health and Family. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Radloff, L. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenthal, C, & Dawson, P. (1991). Wives of institutionalized elderly men: The first stage of the transition to quasi-widowhood. Journal of Aging and Health, 3, 315–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenthal, C, Sulman, J., & Marshall, V. (1993). Depressive symptomatology in family caregivers of long-stay hospitalized patients. The Gerontologist, 33, in press.Google Scholar
Smith, K., & Bengtson, V. (1979). Positive consequences of institutionalization: Solidarity between elderly parents and their middle-aged children. The Gerontologist, 19, 438–447.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Statistics Canada. (1987). Family Income: Census Families. Ottawa: Ministry of Supply and Services.Google Scholar
Stones, M.J., & Kozma, A. (1986). Happiness and activities as propensities. Journal of Gerontology, 41, 85–90.Google Scholar
Townsend, A.L. (1990). Nursing home care and family caregivers' stress. In Stephens, M.A.P., Crowther, J.H., Hobfoll, S.E., & Tennenbaum, D.L. (Eds.), Stress and Coping in Later-Life Families. New York: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar
Zarit, S., Reever, K., & Bach-Peterson, J. (1980). Relatives of the impaired elderly: Correlates of feelings of burden. The Gerontologist, 20, 649–655.Google Scholar
Zarit, S., Todd, P., & Zarit, J. (1986). Subjective burden of husbands and wives as caregivers: A longitudinal study. The Gerontologist, 26, 260–266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed