Needs and Needs Communication of Nursing Home Residents with Depressive Symptoms: A Qualitative Study.

Nursing home residents are affected by depressive symptoms more often than elders living at home. There is a correlation between unmet needs and depression in nursing home residents, while met needs positively correlate with greater satisfaction and well-being. The study aims to examine the needs of nursing home residents with depressive symptoms and the communication of those needs, as no previous study has explicitly addressed the needs of this group of people and the way they are communicated. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 residents of three nursing homes and analyzed them using content-structuring content analysis. The residents reported diverse needs, assigned to 12 categories. In addition, barriers such as health impairments prevented the fulfillment of needs. As to the communication of needs, various interlocutors, facilitators, and barriers were identified. The findings reveal that residents can express their needs and are more likely to do so if the interlocutors are patient and take them seriously. However, lack of confidants, missing or non-functioning communication tools, impatience and perceived lack of understanding on the part of caregivers, and residents' insecurities limit communication of needs.

Factors Worsening and Mitigating the Consequences of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Overall Health of Informal Caregivers of Older People with Long-Term Care Needs Living in Germany and in Italy.

Population ageing and the higher prevalence of multimorbidity in later life are increasing the demand for Long-Term Care (LTC) worldwide; this has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As in Europe and beyond, the bulk of care for frail older people is carried out by informal caregivers. This study aimed at understanding the factors affecting the overall worsening health of informal caregivers of older people with LTC needs living in Germany and Italy during the outbreak. To this purpose, 319 informal caregivers (149 in Germany and 173 in Italy) were surveyed online in 2020-2021. A logistic regression analysis was performed by country, to obtain an adjusted estimate of the risk of worsening of caregivers' health. This risk increased by 42% for German caregivers compared to Italian ones, despite the former receiving more formal services. This may depend on different quality standards of LTC services and caregivers' expectations, and on differing policies concerning migrant care workers (MCWs) during the outbreak, who could not enter Germany and were "trapped" at care recipients' homes in Italy. Results call for in-home care reforms and policies guaranteeing more effective caregiver support, home care services and fairer working condition for MCWs in both countries.

How Many Older Informal Caregivers Are There in Europe? Comparison of Estimates of Their Prevalence from Three European Surveys.

Informal caregivers are people providing some type of unpaid, ongoing assistance to a person with a chronic illness or disability. Long-term care measures and policies cannot take place without taking into account the quantitatively crucial role played by informal caregivers. We use the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS), the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS), and the Study on Health and Ageing in Europe (SHARE) to measure the prevalence of informal caregivers in the European population, and analyze associated socio-demographic factors. This rate ranges between about 13 percent in Portugal and Spain, and more than 22 percent in Luxembourg, Belgium, and Denmark. It declines in older age groups and, on average, is lower in men than in women in all countries studied, and lower among the poorly educated compared to those with higher levels of education. However, large variance was observed in the average share of informal caregivers for most countries between the three surveys. Our findings, estimated through the three surveys, reveal common trends, but also a series of disparities. Additional research will be needed to enable policy makers to access a richer and more harmonized body of data, allowing them to adopt truly evidence-based and targeted policies and interventions in this field.

[Experiences and perspectives of nursing home residents with depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study]. / Erfahrungen und Sichtweisen von Pflegeheimbewohnenden mit depressiver Symptomatik während der COVID-19-Pandemie: eine qualitative Studie.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic requires extensive health protection interventions in order to prevent infections in the long-term care setting. These interventions impact residents' lives, including an increase in depressive symptoms and other negative concomitants. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to explore the experiences and perspectives of nursing home residents with depressive symptoms during the pandemic. METHODS: In this study nine guideline-based interviews were conducted with residents. These were analyzed using the content-structured content analysis according to Kuckartz. RESULTS: Three main themes were identified: perceptions and emotions related to the pandemic, changes and limitations due to the interventions and wishes in terms of the pandemic. The residents reported both emotional distress and not being afraid of infection and its consequences. In addition, some respondents reported unpleasant restrictions, such as wearing masks. In some cases their usefulness was critically questioned. Furthermore, various wishes of the residents in relation to the pandemic, such as leaving the nursing home, were identified. CONCLUSION: The study showed complex perceptions, changes, and wishes due to the pandemic and its interventions. Therefore, an individual approach to residents with depressive symptoms is necessary to avoid an increase in mental health problems. Against this background, there is a need for participatory implementation of health protection measures for the particularly vulnerable group of nursing home residents.