NURSES AND SOCIAL-WORKERS PERCEPTIONS OF ELDERLY NURSING-HOME RESIDENTS WELL-BEING

The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between nurses’ and social workers’ perceptions of the well-being of elderly nursing home residents. Four-hundred and eight residents were rated by both nurses and social workers in three areas: cognitive functioning, depression and the social network. Results showed that there was a strong relationship between the nurses’ and social workers’ ratings on all measures in the three domains of functioning. However, differences between nurses’ and social workers’ ratings were found on several measures. Nurses consistently rated the residents as more impaired than social workers on all measures of cognitive functioning. Nurses also rated the residents as being less depressed, having a lower activity level and having lessfrequent social interactions than did social workers. In the area of the social network, social workers thought residents had more frequent contacts with staff. However, nurses rated the residents as being more intimate with staff and visitors. The practical implications of the results are discussed. © 1991 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.