Care home settings, such as nursing homes or residential care homes, present unique challenges to patient safety. This systematic review published by the National Library of Medicine identified several gaps in the available safety measures used for quality monitoring and improvement in older adult care homes, including patient experience (i.e., quality of life or other resident-reported indicators of safety, psychological harm related to the care home environment, abusive or neglectful practices, and the absence of processes for integrated learning.

Background:

Safety is a key concern in older adult care homes. However, it is a less developed concept in older adult care homes than in healthcare settings. As part of a study of the collection and application of safety data in the care home sector in England, a scoping review of the international literature was conducted. The aim of the review was to identify measures that could be used as indicators of safety for quality monitoring and improvement in older adult residential or nursing care homes.

Conclusion:

The findings indicate that there are a range of available safety measures used for quality monitoring and improvement in older adult care homes. These cover all five domains of safety however there are potential gaps. These include user experience, psychological harm related to the care home environment, abusive or neglectful care practice and the processes for integrated learning. Some of these gaps may relate to challenges and feasibility of measurement in the care home context.

Measuring safety in older adult care homes: a scoping review of the international literature

We need to stay focused on the quality measures we have control over and manage our centers to ensure we are providing the highest quality care. Educate your caregivers on expectations and don’t lose focus of why we do what we do. Stay well and stay tuned!