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5
4
3
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Figure 5.2: Length of time nurses assigned to the unit
5.4 Resident Profile
168
Chapter 5 Findings
Number of Nursing Staff and Length of Time Assigned
to the Research Unit
0 to 11
months
Thirty-eight residents were living in the research unit when the research
commenced and the research unit had a maximum capacity for 42 residents. The
majority of the residents were female (n=22). The residents were admitted for a
variety of reasons. Six had been diagnosed with dementia and seven with
Alzheimer’s disease. One of the residents with Alzheimer’s was a new admission
and was presenting with challenging behaviour. Four residents were diagnosed
with mental health illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression, one was
diagnosed with Huntington’s Chorea, three were post-cerebrovascular accidents
(CVAs), one resident was a bilateral amputee, one had Parkinson’s disease, one
had an intellectual disability and the remainder were social admissions (nowhere
else to go and not managing at home). All were diagnosed with a combination of
medical illness and chronic diseases.
1 to 2 yrs 3 to 5 yrs 6 to 8 yrs 9 to 12 yrs
The Barthel Index (Appendix 18) was used to establish the residents’ level of
independence or dependence. The Department of Health and Children uses
classifications for older people ranging from low dependency to maximum
dependency. The following Table 5.2 gives the numbers and percentages of
residents according to their Barthel scores and according to the Department of