Adequacy of care provision in long-term home nursing arrangements: A triangulation of three perspectives.

BACKGROUND

A growing proportion of older people in Germany receive long-term care from informal and professional caregivers at home. Their personal assessment of the individual care situation is scarcely considered.

AIM

This study aimed to explore the subjective views of care recipients, informal and professional caregivers on the adequacy of care provision in long-term home care arrangements.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Qualitative semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with ten care recipients, ten professional caregivers and eight informal caregivers to capture their perspectives on the adequacy of the care received and delivered. Qualitative content analysis was applied using MAXQDA software.

RESULTS

All groups highlighted that they perceive an of care, even though their explanations differed. The underprovision was mainly described regarding the quality rather than quantity of services. It occurs especially in interpersonal relationships and social inclusion, where the gap between the self-perceived current situation and the desires of those affected is most prominent. The ambivalent impact of home care on social participation becomes apparent. Perceptions of an of care range from the view that it appears mainly with respect to informal care to the statement that it is currently non-existent or generally impossible. of care is experienced as serious whenever the interviewees face the challenge of preserving existing abilities or regaining certain skills.