Detailed insights into the quality of life of nursing home residents by using the German version of the OPQOL-brief questionnaire.

AIM: To investigate the QoL of nursing home residents on overall, domain, and item levels.

METHODS

This descriptive study used the brief Older People's Quality of Life questionnaire (OPQOL-brief).

RESULTS

The domain level 'Home and neighbourhood' scored highest out of dimensions with two items. In our study, nearly 90% (strongly) agreed that they felt safe where they live. The lowest score on the item level was obtained for the item 'I have social or leisure activities/ hobbies that I enjoy doing'.

CONCLUSION

Family, friends, or neighbours seemed to act as resources for the residents. We recommend that researchers investigate the residents' perspectives as well as those of their families and friends to determine how they could become more deeply involved in the daily nursing practice. Moreover, studies on meaningful activities are warranted, and not only for persons with dementia, but for all nursing home residents.