Implementation of the 2002 Ohio nursing home family satisfaction survey : final report

Abstract

In 2002, the Scripps Gerontology Center conducted the second annual nursing home family satisfaction survey under a contract to the Ohio Dept. of Aging. Seven hundred thirty-six of the 902 nursing homes on the mailing list had at least one survey returned by a family member. Nearly half (48%) of nursing home resident families responded, for a total return of 16,955 family responses. Refinements to the survey instrument showed continued high reliability of domain areas and the instrument as a whole. Changes in instructions to families, and a number of processes were changed this year that resulted in fewer family and facility calls requesting assistance from the toll-free hotline operated by the Margaret Blenkner Research Institute at Benjamin Rose. Comparisons of 2001 and 2002 responses show some significant improvements statewide, with more items showing statewide averages of 90 and above. Among facilities that participated both years, a number of areas also showed statistically significant improvements. The family satisfaction survey is one important component of the comprehensive nursing home information shown on the Ohio Long-Term Care Consumer Guide (www.ltcohio.org).