The Challenges of Moving from Regular Nursing Homes toward Innovative Long-Term Care Settings: An Interpretative Description Study of Staff Experiences

Figures & data

Table 1. Description of all relocation locations.

Location	Description old location	Description new location
Location A (N = 3)	A large building where residents live on the second floor. The environment has one large hallway where all rooms are adjacent. The residents live together in smaller groups. One small group (about ten residents) was followed.	Aims to create an environment that focuses on dementia-friendly living, with the motto of adding life to days instead of days to life. The relocation has led to an increase in staff members that were recruited while emphasizing the importance of the new vision. It is a larger building within the village with a vibrant “living kitchen,” centered at the front of the building. No formal courses were provided.
Location B (N = 15)	A large nursing home with wards. It has a large staff member pool and about 30 residents.	Small houses for seven residents in a park-like environment with an aim of creating more freedom of movement for residents and more person-centered care. The houses aim to resemble an archetypal house, with a combined living room and kitchen, a hallway with seven bedrooms and shared toilets and showers. Domotics, such as sensors and GPS, are implemented with the aim to increase the amount of freedom for residents. Staff members were prepared for the new location by visiting other locations with a similar vision and discussing the vision within work groups.
Location C (N = 21)	A building resembling an apartment building, consisting of five floors with one kitchen/living room and about seven residents on each floor.	A care environment with elements of green care farms in the countryside, including outside walking routes and animals. They focus on the strength and independence of residents and doing everything together with them. The new building is large, with multiple hallways where bedrooms are located. There are three combined living rooms and kitchens. All staff members followed several courses, both practical courses in using technology and cooking, as well as courses in vision implementation. These courses started just before the relocation and continued after.

Table 2. Participant characteristics.

Demographic variables (mean, SD, number, percentage)
Age, mean (SD, range)	45.7 (10.9, 24–60)
Gender, number (%)
Male	9 (22.0%)
Female	32 (78.0%)
Work position, number (%)
Manager	3 (7.3%)
Baccalaureate-educated registered nurse	4 (9.8%)
Vocationally trained registered nurse	5 (12.2%)
Certified nurse assistant	6 (14.6%)
Nurse aid	6 (14.6%)
Client attendant	3 (7.3%)
Activities supervisor	3 (7.3%)
Social worker	2 (4.9%)
Occupational therapist	1 (2.4%)
Psychologist	1 (2.4%)
Architect	1 (2.4%)
External advisor	2 (4.9%)
Policy officer (focusing on relocation)	2 (4.9%)
Project manager (focusing on relocation)	2 (4.9%)
Educational level, number (%)
Preparatory secondary vocational education school	4 (9.8%)
Senior secondary vocational education and training	19 (46.3%)
Senior general secondary education and university preparatory education	13 (31.7%)
Bachelor or Master level	5 (12.2%)
Years of employment, mean (SD, range)	10.8 (11.2, 0.4 − 41.0)
Number of working hours, mean (SD, range)	30.3 (5.1, 20–36)

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.