Cohabitation of alert residents with cognitively impaired peers in nursing homes: the nursing staff's point of view.

The nursing staff's point of view has rarely been examined in regard to the difficulties of cohabitation of alert residents with those who are cognitively impaired. The aims of this study were to assess the nursing staff's preference for mixed or segregated care settings and to identify the factors related to this preference. A systematic sample of 349 nursing staff members working in mixed care settings in 19 nursing homes in Montreal (Canada) completed a questionnaire. There were as many staff members who favored mixed care settings as there were those who preferred segregated settings. A stepwise regression analysis revealed that 46% of the variance is explained by the model, and factors related to staff concerns about residents accounted for 42% of that variance. Notably, staff members who gave a lower rating to the disadvantages for lucid residents living on mixed care units or those who reported more benefits for nonlucid residents living on mixed care units were more in favor of cohabitation. Factors related to staff members' personal concerns explain 3% of the variance. In-service educational strategies are discussed.