The relationship between ambiance and the perception of person centered care for short-stay patients in skilled nursing facilities

Person-centered care (PCC) has been recognized by the Institute of Medicine as a critical element in the redesign of our nations healthcare system. Evidence suggests that the physical environment contributes to a more person-centered inpatient healthcare experience. This study explored the relationships among demographic characteristics of individuals receiving care in skilled nursing facilities, satisfaction with nursing care, perceived ambiance of the healthcare environment, and the perception of PCC. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, Spearman’s rho, and hierarchical linear regression were used to analyze the data and answer the research questions. In addition, content analysis was used identify possible themes from the comments by the participants regarding the overall care experience. The sample consisted of 71 individuals (48 women) between the ages of 38 and 97 (M = 71.34, SD = 11.51) having received rehabilitation and/or nursing care in fourteen short-stay SNFs in Texas. A small positive significant relationship was found between the perception of personalized care and years of education (r = .27, p = .012). Moreover, a strong positive significant relationship was found between satisfaction with nursing care and PCC (r = .76, p <. 001), perceived ambiance and PCC (r = .57, p < .001), and satisfaction with nursing care and ambiance (r = .52, p < .001). Hierarchical linear regression only included years of education, satisfaction with nursing care, and ambiance since they were the only variables that had a significant relationship with the outcome variable. The analysis showed that satisfaction with nursing care was the strongest predictor of PCC accounting for 53% of the variance. In addition, ambiance was identified as a significant predictor of the perception of PCC after controlling for education and satisfaction with nursing care. Overall, the three variables accounted for 64% of the variance in the perception of PCC. This was the first study to explore the relationship between perceived ambiance of an inpatient healthcare setting and the perception of person centered care. These findings indicate that the physical environment is an important element that can influence the perception of personalized care in a short-stay SNF setting.