| There is a trend in the Netherlands in deinstitutionalizating the care for elderly with dementia. Large nursing homes are transformed into or replaced with small, homelike blocks or units. In these small scale living facilities, 6 to 8 elderly with dementia live together in a homelike environment. This offers a stimulating environment in which the residents can perform activities of daily living more autonomously. It is expected that this small scale, homelike environment improves the independent functioning and the quality of life of the residents. Moreover, this setting seems to have a positive influence on the employee?s job satisfaction and the satisfaction and commitment of the caregiver. There seems to be a large variety in small scale living facilities, of which the characteristics have not yet been described systematically. Furthermore, the effects of the living facilities have hardly been investigated yet. The objective of the current research project is twofold. First, the variety of the small scale living facilities in the province of Limburg is investigated and compared to other initiatives in the Netherlands. Subsequently, the effects of this small scale environment on the residents, caregivers and employees are studied. In addition to this effect study, a process evaluation is performed. |
