Transitional care
KN 12 Getting transition care of older people right
Prof. Marit Kirkevold Ed.D., Head of Department of Nursing Science, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Norway
Older people undergo many transitions as they age. The transitions are related to changes in health state, functioning, social relations and roles, and in priorities and goals in life. Together these changes may lead to a broad range of care and service needs, which may be addressed by a combination of informal and formal care. The formal health and social services involve a number of different professions and are organized by different providers and at different organizational levels. Together the changes and their associated transitions generate a number of challenges for older people to cope with and adjust to. We have limited understanding of the nature of many of these transitions and about how they may interact in the lives of older people. Although some research exists on transitions in late life, they are usually studied in isolation. Lack of knowledge about the transitions and how they interact may lead to suboptimal services and care. This presentation will reflect on how increased focus on transition care may assist in designing better services that matches the caring needs of older people in different transitions, at the same time acknowledging and respecting the older people’s own preferences, coping resources and self-care abilities.

Knowledge translation
KN 13 Applied research in residential care – is transformative change possible?
Carole A. Estabrooks PhD, Professor & Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Translation, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Canada
TREC (Translating Research in Elder Care) is a pan-Canadian, longitudinal program of applied health services research that has been in place for a decade. Our long term aim is to leverage the tools, partnerships and knowledge gained to date to transform the Long Term Care sector in Canada by capitalizing on the partnerships and knowledge gained from over a decade of focused and intentional work. This presentation will show how we are shaping a context that is ready for best practice, that will support scale-up and spread of transformative innovations, and that readily implements routine and quality feedback mechanisms at point of care.

Quality of care and patient safety
KN 14 Care for older people in nursing homes: can registered nurses make the difference?
Prof. Jan Hamers PhD, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
The quality of care in nursing homes is on the agenda in many countries, and in most cases is reported as inadequate or poor. Often it is argued that more staff is needed to provide better outcomes. The question is, if this is a valid proposition. Therefore, we have conducted a review recently, including 183 peer-reviewed studies published in scientific journals between 1990 and 2016, on the relation between staffing and quality of care. The conclusion is that there is no evidence for an association between higher staffing levels and better quality of care in nursing homes. If increasing staff will not lead to better care, what solutions can be brought up then? This question will be answered by summarizing research presented during this Fifth European Nursing Congress, and focusing at the future care in nursing homes. Nursing home care is highly complex (e.g. severe dementia and palliative care), increasingly uses new technology, and has to deal with rapidly changing demands and expectations of residents and their relatives. It will be argued that a better skill-mix is needed, and that baccalaureate-educated nurses can make the difference. Their competencies are badly needed to address the needs and meet the expectations of an ageing society.

Closure concert
Soprano Francis van Broekhuizen