Aim To investigate the quality of life (QoL) and well-being of people living with advanced dementia in care homes.
Method A mixed-methods approach was taken combining participant observations, interviews with the participants’ families and carers, and quantitative measurements. The quantitative measures included AwareCare assessments, QoL in Late-Stage Dementia scale ratings and semi‑structured interviews with relatives and staff members. Ryff’s psychological well-being framework, the Fairness, Respect, Equality, Identity, Dignity, Autonomy principles, and Kitwood’s indicators of well-being, were examined to attempt to identify contributors to QoL for people living with advanced dementia.
Results Participants had limited verbal abilities, but used non-vocal behaviours to communicate. These behaviours influenced their QoL and well-being.
Conclusion The indicators of well-being in Kitwood’s personhood model were helpful in describing how relatives and staff perceived the QoL of the person with dementia.
Nursing Older People. doi: 10.7748/nop.2019.e1129
Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software
Correspondence Conflict of interestNone declared
Hughes S, Woods B, Algar-Skaife K et al (2019) Understanding quality of life and well-being for people living with advanced dementia. Nursing Older People. doi: 10.7748/nop.2019.e1129
Published online: 20 February 2019
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