Swiss nursing home residents’ perspectives on person-centered care: comparing data from 2013 and 2019

In line with global healthcare policies and initiatives, person-centered care is increasingly promoted as a guiding principle in Swiss long-term care. However, further efforts are needed to ensure it is embedded in practice sustainably. Various existing structural challenges in the long-term care sector can hinder person-centered care and affect nursing home residents’ quality of life. Individual evaluation is therefore essential to developing person-centered care, but such assessment is incomplete without data on residents’ perceptions. As part of the RESPONS study, a representative sample of nursing home residents was surveyed in 2013 and 2019 to determine their perception of person-centered care. A repeated, multicenter, cross-sectional, face-to-face survey was conducted, including 1,016 residents in 2013 and 1,201 in 2019. Measurement instruments were the Residents’ Quality of Life, the Cognitive Performance Scale, and the Care Dependency Scale. The resulting data were analyzed and compared for the total sample and within two resident subgroups from one-time and two-time participating nursing homes. Residents’ ratings of perceived person-centered care indicate room for improvement, particularly in terms of interest in residents’ lives, communication, and the relationship between nursing staff and residents. Between 2013 and 2019, there was a significant increase in perceptions of being known as a person and a significant decrease in perceptions of staff as friends. A generally positive development in person-centered care was observed in the nursing homes that participated in both study years. Repeatedly surveying residents’ perspectives shows strong potential to provide insight into improvements in person-centered care, particularly if such approaches are still in their early stages. Given existing structural challenges in long-term care, it is even more crucial to evaluate how to achieve compatibility with person-centered principles under these conditions, thereby promoting a cultural shift towards a person-centered, trusting care environment in nursing homes. Developing an appropriate mix of nursing skills and qualifications may help to ensure that qualified nurses can perform relational work. This could be further supported by providing targeted training for nursing home managers and staff that encourages reflection on person-centered values and the relational aspects of nursing care.