QUALITY OF CARE PROVIDED IN GERIATRIC ASSESSMENT UNITS - THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PATIENTS

The aim of the study is to identify criteria that frail elderly patien ts refer to when they appreciate the quality of care of Geriatric asse ssment units. Twenty-one patients recently released from six Geriatric assessment units in Montreal participated in face-to-face interviews (n = 17) or in a Focus Group (n = 4). Patients reported 56 different c riteria grouped into four main dimensions of quality: the environment of care, the attitude and the technical competence of professionals an d the results of care. The environment of care consists of physical re sources and person related qualities. Comments on the attitude and the technical competence of professionals related mostly to the nurses an d physicians. Some quality criteria reported by elderly patients are s imilar to those reported by patients in various acute care units while others are specific to the frailty of their condition. This study pro vides health care professionals with rich and useful information on ho w elderly patients perceive the quality of various components of care in Geriatric assessment units.