Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39987030›Full record

ArticleBMC geriatrics2025

Freedom of movement and health of nursing home residents with dementia: an exploratory cross-sectional study.

Suzan P van Liempd, Sascha R Bolt, Katrien G Luijkx

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMC geriatrics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Suzan P van LiempdDepartment of Tranzo, Scientific Centre for Care and Wellbeing, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands. s.p.vanliempd@tilburguniversity.edu.
Sascha R BoltDepartment of Tranzo, Scientific Centre for Care and Wellbeing, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Katrien G LuijkxDepartment of Tranzo, Scientific Centre for Care and Wellbeing, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHaving more freedom of movement may relate to better health in nursing home (NH) residents with dementia. Research that tests whether residents in NHs with more freedom of movement are healthier compared to residents in closed NHs is scarce. Also, existing research on freedom of movement does not consider the diverse dimensions of health. This study explored health differences between two groups of nursing home residents with dementia with different levels of freedom of movement.

methodsWe used a quantitative cross-sectional design to investigate differences in health between two groups of NH residents with dementia. One group lived in closed NHs (i.e., with closed unit doors) and the other group in semi-open NHs (i.e., with closed NH entrance doors). A total of 124 residents with dementia were recruited from five NHs in the Netherlands, of whom 61 residents lived in semi-open NHs and 63 residents lived in closed NHs. Data were collected using questionnaires to cover health dimensions according to the concept of Positive Health, including quality of life and participation, mental functioning and perception, daily functioning and bodily functions. An analysis of covariance, adjusted for age, gender and type of dementia, was used to examine differences in residents' health.

resultsMost included residents had Alzheimer's or vascular dementia and 68% were female. No significant demographic differences were observed between the two groups in age, gender, type of dementia, length of stay, length of diagnoses and type of care package (p-values ranged from 0.097 to 0.606). After adjusting for multiple comparisons, there were no significant differences in any of the assessed health dimensions between residents of semi-open nursing homes and those of closed nursing homes, with a significance threshold of p <.004 accounting for the correction for multiple testing (p-values ranged from 0.020 to 0.870).

conclusionsThis exploratory study found no significant differences in health between residents with dementia in semi-open and closed NHs. These findings contradict earlier research suggesting that more freedom of movement may enhance overall health in this population. Further research, preferably employing longitudinal designs, is necessary to establish causal pathways and identify the underlying mechanisms.

Indexed as

Activities of Daily LivingDementiaHealth StatusNursing HomesQuality of LifeAgedAged, 80 and overCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleFreedomHumansMaleMovementNetherlandsDementiaFreedom of movementHealthNursing homesOpen doors

Identifiers

PMID39987030
PMCPMC11846341

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.