Interprofessional collaboration in nursing homes (interprof): development and piloting of measures to improve interprofessional collaboration and communication: a qualitative multicentre study.

BACKGROUND: Given both the increase of nursing home residents forecast and challenges of current interprofessional interactions, we developed and tested measures to improve collaboration and communication between nurses and general practitioners (GPs) in this setting. Our multicentre study has been funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (FK 01GY1124). METHODS: The measures were developed iteratively in a continuous process, which is the focus of this article. In part 1 "exploration of the situation", interviews were conducted with GPs, nurses, nursing home residents and their relatives focusing on interprofessional interactions and medical care. They were analysed qualitatively. Based on these results, in part 2 "development of measures to improve collaboration", ideas for improvement were developed in nine focus groups with GPs and nurses. These ideas were revisited in a final expert workshop. We analysed the focus groups and expert workshop using mind mapping methods, and finally drew up the compilation of measures. In an exploratory pilot study "study part 3" four nursing homes chose the measures they wanted to adopt. These were tested for three months. Feasibility and acceptance of the measures were evaluated via guideline interviews with the stakeholders which were analysed by content analyses. RESULTS: Six measures were generated: meetings to establish common goals, main contact person, standardised pro re nata medication, introduction of name badges, improved availability of nurse/GP and standardised scheduling/ procedure for nursing home visits. In the pilot study, the measures were implemented in four nursing homes. GPs and nurses reviewed five measures as feasible and acceptable, only the designation of a "main contact person" was not considered as an improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Six measures to improve collaboration and communication could be compiled in a multistep qualitative process respecting the perspectives of involved stakeholders. Five of the six measures were positively assessed in an exploratory pilot study. They could easily be transferred into the daily routine of other nursing homes, as no special models have to exist in advance. Impact of the measures on patient oriented outcomes should be examined in further research. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.

Interprofessional collaboration in nursing homes (interprof): a grounded theory study of general practitioner experiences and strategies to perform nursing home visits.

BACKGROUND: Interprofessionalism, considered as collaboration between medical professionals, has gained prominence over recent decades and evidence for its impact has grown. The steadily increasing number of residents in nursing homes will challenge medical care and the interaction across professions, especially nurses and general practitioners (GPs). The nursing home visit, a key element of medical care, has been underrepresented in research. This study explores GP perspectives on interprofessional collaboration with a focus on their visits to nursing homes in order to understand their experiences and expectations. This research represents an aspect of the interprof study, which explores medical care needs as well as the perceived collaboration and communication by nursing home residents, their families, GPs and nurses. This paper focusses on GPs' views, investigating in particular their visits to nursing homes in order to understand their experiences. METHODS: Open guideline-interviews covering interprofessional collaboration and the visit process were conducted with 30 GPs in three study centers and analyzed with grounded theory methodology. GPs were recruited via postal request and existing networks of the research partners. RESULTS: Four different types of nursing home visits were found: visits on demand, periodical visits, nursing home rounds and ad-hoc-decision based visits. We identified the core category "productive performance" of home visits in nursing homes which stands for the balance of GPs´ individual efforts and rewards. GPs used different strategies to perform a productive home visit: preparing strategies, on-site strategies and investing strategies. CONCLUSION: We compiled a theory of GPs home visits in nursing homes in Germany. The findings will be useful for research, and scientific and management purposes to generate a deeper understanding of GP perspectives and thereby improve interprofessional collaboration to ensure a high quality of care.

Interprofessional collaboration and communication in nursing homes: a qualitative exploration of problems in medical care for nursing home residents ­ study protocol.

AIM: This study explores the current state of collaboration and communication between nurses and general practitioners in nursing homes, as well as needs and expectations of nursing home residents and their families. Finally, we aim to develop a new model of collaboration and communication. BACKGROUND: Rising numbers of residents in nursing homes present a challenge for general practice and nursing in most Western countries. In Germany, general practitioners visit their patients in nursing homes, where nurses work in shifts. This leads to a big variety of contacts with regard to persons involved and ways of communication. DESIGN: Qualitative multicentre study. METHODS: Study part 1 explores needs and problems in interprofessional collaboration in interviews with nursing home residents and their relatives, general practitioners and nurses. Simultaneously, general practitioners' visits in nursing homes are observed directly. In study part 2, general practitioners and nurses will discuss findings from study part 1 in focus groups, aiming to develop strategies for the improvement of shortcomings in a participatory way. Based on the results, experts will contribute to the emerging model of collaboration and communication in a multi-professional workshop. Finally, this model will be tested in a small feasibility study. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research approved funding in March 2011. DISCUSSION: The study is expected to uncover deficits and opportunities in interprofessional collaboration in nursing homes. It provides deeper understanding of the concepts of all involved person groups and adds important clues for the interaction between professionals and older people in this setting.

[Patient involvement: the physician's view--a qualitative survey]. / PatientInnenbeteiligung aus ArztInnensicht - eine qualitative Studie.

OBJECTIVES: Patient involvement (PI) and shared decision making (SDM) have increasingly come into the focus of (inter-)national research. SDM, however, is not a standard component of standard care so far. Therefore it is of importance to take into consideration all parties concerned. This article points out the barriers physicians see; one group has not been interrogated on this topic often. METHOD: 25 physicians at a clinical centre were interviewed about decision-making processes within their environment, their concerns as well as their ideas towards PI. The consultations were realized with the help of a guideline-oriented questionnaire. The outcome was then interpreted by means of the thematic content analysis. RESULTS: A system of categories was constructed containing 28 categories on the micro-, meso-, and macro-level. From a physician's perspective, changes are necessary on all levels to achieve patient involvement and SDM. Essential points of approach for this are: sufficient time and personnel, sufficient communicative abilities in physicians, and a solid physician-patient relationship as well as changes in healthcare politics. CONCLUSIONS: To consistently improve patient involvement and SDM, physicians' concerns must be taken seriously. Here SDM can only be properly applied by taking into account the meso- and macro-level. Furthermore, it would be helpful to clear up the conceptually vague aspects of SDM, which would also help to communicate the concept more clearly.

[Which factors determine how family members experience the obsessive-compulsive disorder of a close relative?]. / Welche Faktoren beeinflussen das Erleben der Angehörigen von Zwangspatienten?

Obsessive-compulsive disorders represent a challenge with their effects on the everyday life for family members. The main emphasis of previous research was on the recording of the burden and deficits of this group. The qualitative study on hand aims to describe living with an OCD-patient from the viewpoint of the relatives. It could be shown that the perception of the disorder is formed by the experiences of life. On an experience continuum two poles could be pointed out: on the one hand an orientation in the direction of control and on the other hand the acceptance of unchangeability. In turn these basic orientations form the view on the illness and are connected to special burdens and risks but also resources. The perception of the illness can change over time or due to situative reasons. Subjective relieving changes of the perspectives and possible influences and supports of professional helpers are of special interest for therapists.

[The feeling of responsibility as core motivation for care giving--why daughters care for their mothers]. / Sich-verantwortlich-Fühlen als zentrale Pflegemotivation. Warum Töchter ihre Mütter pflegen.

The willingness of daughters to care for their mothers in Germany is still very high. Time and again daughters cite as reasons a certain self-evidence and a moral duty as core and relatively unspecific motives. A reconstructing case study which had as primary goal the analysis of the transition from daughter to caregiving daughter (Geister, 2004) offered the possibility to research the motives of these women more precisely. This paper, which focuses on only one aspect of the study, shows the correlation between the feeling of responsibility and the motivation to caregiving, utilizing the example of two women. The data was obtained by biographical narrative interviews with twelve caregiving daughters. Evaluation was done in accordance with the method of biographical case reconstruction by Gabriele Rosenthal (1987; 1995). The results of the two case reconstructions led to the conclusion that the motivation of these women to care for their mothers was embedded in their life history. These findings also apply to the other ten interviewed women. During the course of their lives a feeling of responsibility arose usually long before the necessity for caregiving occurred. The feeling of responsibility nurtured the development of a caring attitude towards the mother, which was expressed in caring and increasingly help providing activities by the daughter. Caregiving embodied the intensification of this responsibility motivated care. The awareness of personal responsibility for the mother implicits the acceptance of possible caregiving. Further concept developments about the support for caregiving daughters should more strongly consider their individual motives of responsibility.

[Effects of nursing insurance on caregiving daughters--the role of professional nursing care]. / Auswirkungen der Pflegeversicherung auf die Situation pflegender Töchter--Die Rolle der professionellen Pflegedienste.

In view of the demographic development the topic of "Nursing of elderly relatives" is gaining more and more importance within nursing research. The object of the investigation described in this paper was to assess the measures of the Pflegeversicherung [Long Term Care Insurance] with regard to its effects on care-giving daughters. This publication assesses one of the questions of the study--what part professional services play in the support of care-giving daughters. The data was collected by individual biographic-narrative interviews in the private household of care-giving daughters. The data was then evaluated according to the method of biographical case reconstruction developed by Gabriele Rosenthal. This way we were able to gain a deeper insight into the situation of care-giving daughters and analyse the consequences of the Pflegeversicherungsgesetz [Long Term Care Insurance Law] from an "inner perspective". The results of the study point to both the positive effects of the Pflegeversicherungsgesetz and its limits. We were able to show that the expansion of out patient services leads to an enhanced nursing infrastructure. In view of the part that professional nursing services play, however, the biographical access also made it clear that the Pflegeversicherung will not lead to far-reaching changes in nursing arrangements. In spite of Pflegeversicherung caregiving relatives still suffer from personal and emotional strain. Also the legal requirements are too narrow and allow hardly enough space for the consideration of the family environment and the history of life of relationship between daughter and mother.