Residential homes and need fulfillment

Abstract

The literature suggests that elderly people entering residential homes will eventually encounter some form of emotional loss due to the lack of need fulfillment. Needs have been described as affecting the quality of life of the elderly concerned; and thus, it is important to try to provide a certain degree of need fulfillment so as to make the experience of residential living as positive as far as possible. The purpose of the study was to identify whether the needs of the elderly living in residential homes in Malta are being fulfilled. For the present study, two residential homes were used, one provided by the government and the other by the church. A sample of 16 elderly people from each home was selected by means of systematic sampling, with one elderly person from ea.eh home participating in the pilot study. To explore the area under investigation a semi-structured interview schedule was designed, which incorporated both closed and open questions. The data revealed the heterogeneity of the elderly residents since ea.eh individual elderly person experienced the residential home in a unique way. On the whole, the governmental home seemed to meet more the needs of the elderly residents. On the other hand, the church home seemed to be in a state of equilibrium, with one side being positive, the other being negative. The main limitations of the study are the small sample size, the large percentage of female respondents and the selection criteria adopted. However, the study still reflects the way the needs of elderly people within residential homes are managed, particularly since the majority of residential homes presently available in Malta are provided by the government and the church.