Magruder Karen J, Fields Noelle L, Xu Ling
a The Senior Source , Dallas , Texas , USA.
b The University of Texas at Arlington , Arlington , Texas , USA.
Home Health Care Serv Q. 2018 Jul-Sep;37(3):158-176. doi: 10.1080/01621424.2018.1474830. Epub 2018 Jun 1.
Long-term care ombudsmen are resident advocates who receive, investigate, and resolve complaints relating to quality of care and violations of resident rights in assisted living (AL). More research is needed to understand systemic differences in source, type, and number of ombudsman complaints in AL. Ombudsman complaint data (n = 5,705 complaints) in small, medium, and large ALs in Dallas, Texas were analyzed using proportion Z tests. Findings suggest that all facilities had a high number of environmental complaints. Compared to larger facilities, small ALs have a disproportionately high number of complaints, a significantly higher number of complaints related to access to information, visitors, and ombudsmen, lower number of complaints related to care and staffing, family are less likely to complain, and residents are least likely to voice concerns. We recommend strategies for ombudsmen and AL providers to better meet residents' needs. We conclude with a call to action underscoring the increasing importance of the role of the ombudsman in AL.
长期护理监察员是居民权益倡导者，他们负责接收、调查并解决与辅助生活（AL）中的护理质量和居民权利侵犯相关的投诉。需要更多研究来了解辅助生活中监察员投诉的来源、类型和数量的系统性差异。使用比例Z检验分析了德克萨斯州达拉斯市小型、中型和大型辅助生活机构中的监察员投诉数据（n = 5705起投诉）。研究结果表明，所有机构的环境投诉数量都很高。与大型机构相比，小型辅助生活机构的投诉数量不成比例地高，与获取信息、访客和监察员相关的投诉数量显著更高，与护理和人员配备相关的投诉数量更低，家属投诉的可能性较小，居民表达担忧的可能性最小。我们为监察员和辅助生活机构提供者推荐了一些策略，以更好地满足居民的需求。我们最后呼吁采取行动，强调监察员在辅助生活中作用的重要性日益增加。
