Factors related to the acceptance of home care and nursing homes among older Egyptians: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Socio-demographic changes may deprive older Egyptians from receiving care by family members and raise the question of how they react if they become dependent on help.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine factors related to the acceptance of home care and nursing homes among older Egyptians.

Design: A two group comparative design based on self-reports.

Participants: The sample was composed of 344 older persons receiving home care or staying in a nursing home and 267 non-care recipients.

Setting: The study was conducted in Greater Cairo.

Methods: Factors related to the acceptance of home care and nursing homes were determined separately for each group by logistic regression.

Results: Lesser feelings of shame while receiving care from non-family members were related to an increased acceptance of both kinds of care. For non-care recipients disagreement to the traditional idea of family care had a similar effect. For care recipients the experience made with a particular kind of care was strongly related to its acceptance.

Discussion: Home care is a new phenomenon in Cairo and in contrast to nursing homes it was unknown to most study participants. For this reason any conclusion about which kind of service is preferred by older Egyptians would be a premature one.

Conclusion: Feelings of shame while receiving care from a non-family member are more important than functional limitations when older Egyptians are considering the options of home care and nursing homes.