# FAMILY INVOLVEMENT IN NURSING HOME DECISION-MAKING

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · 1992 · $199,355

## Abstract

The purpose of this twenty-seven month anthropological study is to
investigate family involvement in nursing home decision-making with
particular emphasis on everyday decisions that significantly affect the
quality of life of elderly residents.  The specific aims are:  (1) to
describe the natural history of family involvement in decision-making in
nursing homes; (2) to identify correlates of family involvement in
decision-making; (3) to examine the relative contribution of family in
relation to other actors in the decision-making process; (4) to identify,
describe, and interpret the taken-for-granted norms and rules of behavior
influencing family involvement in decision-making in contrasting nursing
home environments, and (5) to develop theory regarding the role of family
in nursing home decision-making.  The project will monitor family
involvement at different levels of decision-making (ranging from everyday
living decisions to crisis or life and death decisions) in four nursing
homes.  The project will conduct intensive study of representative elderly
residents and those who participate in decisions affecting these residents,
including family members, nursing staff, physicians, non-medical staff,
administrators and others.

Three complementary data collection strategies will be employed --
participant observation, repeated semi-structured in-depth interviews, and
event analysis.  These data will be supplemented by information from
resident records and by formal measures to assess the medical, functional,
mental, and social characteristics of residents and family members.
Qualitative analysis will include detailed interpretive case studies,
systematic identification and description of significant themes in the
decision-making process, and identification of grounded variables for
inclusion in quantitative analyses.  Bivariate analyses will be used to
identify resident, family, and contextual correlates of family involvement
in nursing home decision-making.  Specific hypotheses regarding levels of
family involvement at different levels of decision-making will be tested.
The qualitative and quantitative findings will be integrated in the
development of a theory of family involvement in institutional decision-
making.  Knowledge gained from this research will contribute to defining
appropriate roles and responsibilities for families in nursing homes and
may also suggest intervention strategies that will enhance resident and
family involvement in decisions affecting residents' quality of life.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3120112
- **Project number:** 5R01AG008475-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** H1HYA8Z1NTM5
- **Principal Investigator:** Graham D Rowles
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1992
- **Award amount:** $199,355
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1991-02-01 → 1993-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3120112

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3120112, FAMILY INVOLVEMENT IN NURSING HOME DECISION-MAKING (5R01AG008475-02). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3120112. Licensed CC0.

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