How do self-care routines of nursing home residents compare with past self-care practices?

This article compares the self-care routines of nursing home residents with those customarily practiced when individuals were able to care for themselves. Participants were 20 nursing home residents, their spouses, and nursing assistants. Self-care routines were assessed using the Self-maintenance Habits and Preferences in Elderly (SHAPE) questionnaire. More items change than remain the same. Items most likely to change are those dealing with timing or duration. Routines become more simplified after admission and reflect the increased frailty of residents. Self-care becomes more important overall. Spouses are unable to indicate whether current and past self-care practices are the same slightly over half of the time, but nursing assistants are almost totally lacking in the knowledge of previous self-care routines. Knowledge of changes in self-care routines can be used to guide interventions to bring past and current practices into greater concordance.