Physician care in assisted living: a qualitative study.
OBJECTIVE
To identify patterns and emerging concepts used by assisted living (AL) residents, their families, and the facility staff to describe the care provided by physicians to the AL residents.


METHODS
Qualitative research and analysis based on audio-taped and transcribed ethnographic interviews with residents, family members, and staff of AL facilities.


METHODS
Three AL facilities representing small and traditional AL facilities.


METHODS
Forty-three in-depth interviews including 16 AL residents, 13 family members, three facility managers, and 11 staff members.


METHODS
Ethnographic, audio-taped interviews coded by consensus by a doctoral-level analysis team. Coding focused broadly on any references to physicians or doctors in the interviews.


RESULTS
Emergent themes included four major physician-related themes in AL including: magnification of physician authority; disagreements with physician care; physician communication; and continuity/discontinuity of physician care.


CONCLUSIONS
Physicians caring for residents of AL facilities should consider how residents, families, and staff stakeholders may influence their patient care for AL residents in terms of their authority, decision-making, communication, and continuity of care.
Schumacher
John Gerard
JG
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA. jschuma@umbc.edu
Eckert
J Kevin
JK
Zimmerman
Sheryl
S
Carder
Paula
P
Wright
Arnette
A
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D040561:Assisted Living Facilities / Q000592:standards*; D003142:Communication; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D034462:Dissent and Disputes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008396:Maryland; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010819:Physician's Role; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D036301:Qualitative Research