An evaluation of the use of the natural helping network model to enhance the well-being of nursing home residents

This article describes and evaluates the Buddy Program, which uses a natural helping network model to enhance the well-being of persons in nursing homes. Thirty-six nondemented patients ("buddies") and 33 persons with dementia completed the 6-month study that involved an educational program for the buddies and regular meetings between buddy-dementia patient pairs. Over the 6 months, compared to a matched control group, the dementia patients showed no advantage on any of the seven outcome measures and actually had significantly more depressive symptoms and greater nursing home dissatisfaction. The nondementia buddies showed no differences from the controls on any of the outcome measures. The results suggest that natural helping network models may not be easily imported into nursing home settings.