Factors influencing residents’ satisfaction in residential aged care

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the important factors influencing residents ’ satisfaction in residential aged care and to provide a better un-derstanding of their interrelationships. Design and Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect the required information, including resident satisfaction, resident dependency levels, and staff satisfaction. A stratified random sampling approach was utilized to select facilities. All residents satisfying the selection criteria (i.e., understand English, be sufficient cognitive competence, have a sufficient energy level to participate in the survey, and live in the facility for more than 4 weeks) and all care staff were invited to participate. A total of 996 residents and 895 staff from 62 facilities (36 hostels and 26 nursing homes) provided the required data. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the inter-relationships among three sets of contributing factors, related to the facility, staff and residents, and resident satisfaction components, separately for nursing home and hostel residents. Results: Overall fits of both nursing home and hostel models were satisfactory. This study has revealed that staff satisfaction plays a crucial and central role in determining resident satisfaction in nursing homes, whereas it has less impact in hostels. The provision of more care hours has only a small, yet positive, impact on resident satisfaction. Larger facility size has a negative impact on resident involvement. Older residents were found to bemore satisfiedwith staff care. Implications: The results provide a comprehensive understanding of what influences resident satisfaction. By accounting for important factors identified by residents, a resident-focused care model can be developed and imple-mented, leading to better service for aged care residents