Abstract

Objectives

Often perceived as a last resort, a care home move for a person living with dementia is often undertaken when all other options have been exhausted. Deciding the right or optimal time is to move remains an important question for many families.

To investigate factors that are weighed up in deciding to make a care home move.

Method

Qualitative in-depth interviews with 21 family carers and 5 care home residents living with dementia in England. Thematic analysis was applied to all transcripts to extract key themes and sub-themes; a summation is provided here.

Results

Participants emotionally recollected an accumulation of stressors, exhausting other options of care, a risk/benefit analysis, wishes of person living with dementia, and a readiness to move as indicators of when a ‘tipping point’ was reached. They also felt strongly that early planning, prior experience of care homes, understanding funding arrangements and having support with decision-making would help.

Conclusion

Deciding to move to a care home is complex, contextual and deeply personal. Early planning in the form of joining waiting lists, using day centres and respite services may help in creating relationships with intended care homes for the future. There is growing need for support with financial advice and funding arrangements, for both self- and publicly funded individuals.

中文翻译：

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“时机已到”：对决定搬家的“临界点”的反思

摘要

目标

通常被认为是最后的手段，当所有其他选择都用尽时，通常会为患有痴呆症的人搬家。决定搬家的正确或最佳时间仍然是许多家庭的重要问题。

调查在决定搬家时权衡的因素。

方法

对英国 21 名患有痴呆症的家庭护理人员和 5 名护理院居民进行定性深入访谈。主题分析应用于所有成绩单以提取关键主题和子主题；这里提供了一个总结。

结果

参与者在情感上回忆起压力源的积累、用尽其他护理选择、风险/收益分析、痴呆症患者的意愿，以及作为达到“临界点”时的指标移动的准备情况。他们还强烈认为，早期规划、之前在养老院的经验、了解资金安排和决策支持都会有所帮助。

结论

决定搬到养老院是复杂的、有背景的和非常个人化的。以加入等候名单、使用日托中心和暂托服务的形式进行早期规划可能有助于为未来与预定的护理院建立关系。对于自筹资金和公费资助的个人，越来越需要财务建议和资金安排方面的支持。