An Overview of Potential Labor-Saving and Quality-Improving Innovations in Long-Term Care for Older People

doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2014.12.017

Journal of the American Medical Directors Association

Volume 16, Issue 6, 1 June 2015, Pages 482-489

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2014.12.017 Get rights and content

Abstract

Objectives

Increasing demands in long-term care for older people and a decrease in workforce availability can be expected in the future. These developments challenge the sustainability and quality of long-term care for older people. To address these challenges, long-term care organizations are forced to innovate. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of potential labor-saving and quality-improving innovations long-term care organizations are working on and to assess the self-reported extent of effectiveness.

Design

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study.

Methods

In total, 32 long-term care organizations in the region of Limburg in The Netherlands were invited to participate in the study. The inventory was performed by means of semistructured interviews with chief executive officers, managers, and staff members of the long-term care organizations. Based on the interview data, all innovations were described in a standardized form and subsequently checked by the participants. All innovations were clustered into product, process, organizational, and marketing innovations.

Results

In total, 26 long-term care organizations delivering home and/or institutional long-term care for older people participated in the study. Overall, 228 innovations were identified; some innovations were described in a similar way by different organizations. The majority of innovations were product innovations (n = 96), followed by organizational innovations (n = 75), and process innovations (n = 42). In addition to the main types, 15 other innovations incorporating characteristics of different types of innovations were detected. Little evidence about the effectiveness of the innovations was reported by the organizations.

Conclusions

This study shows that a large number and a broad variety of innovations have been implemented or are currently being developed in long-term care organizations for older people. However, according to the organizations, there is relatively little (scientific) evidence confirming the effectiveness of these innovations. More research is needed to evaluate the effects of the innovations and to indicate whether they provide real solutions to future challenges.

Section snippets

Design

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to identify potential labor-saving and quality-improving innovations in home care and institutional LTC organizations for older people.

Research Setting and Subjects

The study was conducted in the region of Limburg in the south of The Netherlands. It is a region with both rural and urban areas, and has approximately 1.1 million inhabitants, of whom some 230,000 are aged 65 or older.¹⁴ Compared with the entire country, the aging of the society in Limburg is advanced in stage,

Characteristics of the Participants

Of the 32 LTC organizations invited to participate in the study, 26 organizations actually participated in the interviews. Two organizations declined participation because in their opinion they could not contribute to the goal of the study because of a lack of innovations in their organizations. Four organizations declined to participate without mentioning a reason. Altogether 33 semistructured interviews (in 22 organizations 1 interview, in 2 organizations 2 interviews, in 1 organization 3

Discussion

The inventory conducted in this study resulted in a large number (n = 228) and a wide range of different types of innovation in LTC for older people. Three main types of potential labor-saving and quality-improving innovations were found, namely product, process, and organizational innovation. In addition, we found a category “other innovation” including multiple elements of the 3 main types of innovations. Most of the innovations were identified in the product category and included supportive

Conclusions

The study shows that a large number and wide variety of innovations are currently used or are being developed in LTC for older people. This implies a high potential for innovation in this sector. However, there is insufficient (scientific) evidence concerning the labor-saving and quality-improving effects of many innovations. This overview should serve as a basis for further research on the effectiveness of the proposed innovations to ensure that organizations invest in innovations that are

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the LTC organizations and their employees for their participation in this study. In addition, they wish to thank Nadine Spierts for her support during the data collection and the categorizing of the data.

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: The study was funded by the Province of Limburg/The Netherlands (grant no. 2013/15434). The funding source had no involvement in conduct of research and/or preparation of the article and the decision to submit the article.

: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

View full text

Original StudyAn Overview of Potential Labor-Saving and Quality-Improving Innovations in Long-Term Care for Older People

Abstract

Objectives

Design

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Design

Research Setting and Subjects

Characteristics of the Participants

Discussion

Conclusions

Acknowledgments

J Am Med Dir Assoc

The solid facts. Home care in Europe

A key to slower health spending growth worldwide will be unlocking innovation to reduce the labor-intensity of care

Health Aff

Global health and ageing

The Long-Term Care Workforce: Overview and Strategies to Adapt Supply to a Growing Demand

A Good Life in Old Age? Monitoring and Improving Quality in Long-term Care

Improving nurse care coordination with technology

Comput Inform Nurs

Sheltered housing compared to independent housing in the community

Scand J Caring Sci

Long-term Care in the European Union

Original Study
An Overview of Potential Labor-Saving and Quality-Improving Innovations in Long-Term Care for Older People