All of the necessary charts of eligibility were reviewed ads well as the data obtained from the Minimum Data Set (MDS) which were recorded by means of the Chart Review Form as well as the Minimum Data Set Cognitive Performance Scale (MDS-CPS). The Minimum Data Set Cognitive Performance Scale (MDS-CPS) is a scale which is generated from the 5 MDS elements (comatose status, ability to make decisions, short-term memory, ability to make oneself be understood as well as eating).The scores from the scale ranged from 0 (for, no impairment) to 6 ( for, very severe impairment) as pointed out by Hartmaier et al. (1995).

The residents who scored two or less on the MDS-CPS were then asked in a kind way to willingly be part of the interview.

The interview involved the completion of the Dementia Quality of Life Instruments as suggested by Brod, Stewart, Sands & Walton (1999),the Personal Interview Form, the UCLA loneliness Scale, as suggested by Russell & Cutrona (1991) and the Geriatric Depression Scale which was suggested by Yesavage & Brink (1983). The data that was obtained from the control facility was also included.

The independent variable

The independent variable is implementation of the Eden Alternative Model

Dependent variable

The dependent variable is the Quality of Life since it changes with the level of implementation of the independent variable (Eden Alternative).

Quality of life (QoL) is a rather subjective perception of an individual's happiness level of satisfaction with his/her life (Oleson,1990)

Description of the instruments

The Minimum Data Set is a comprehensive as well as mandated tool of assessment which is used by various nursing homes in order to access the functional, psychosocial, cognitive and mental status. It has to be completed with a period of 14 days after submission with a regular update at certain interval of time (Morris et al.,1990).The MDS must be administered by a registered nurse.

The selected items on the MDS scale that were necessary for conducting cognitive assessment are known as the Cognitive Performance Scale CPS as pointed out by Hartmaier, et al. (1995). The reliability of this scale ranged from .40 up to .75 as noted by Morris et al., (1990).

The Chart review Form was employed in the collection of demographic, background as well as health information from the participants. Some of the information which were collected included; age, race, sex, length if stay as well as marital status. The MDS data was related to the participant's cognitive pattern, number of medications as well as disease diagnoses.

The UCLA Loneliness scale (Russell and Cutrona,1991) was employed for the measurement of loneliness for the participants.

The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was employed for the measurement of boredom, helplessness as well as boredom (Yesavage & Brink,1983)

The Dementia Quality of Life instrument was used in the measurement of the participants' quality of life (Brod, Stewart, Sands & Walton,1999).

Hypothesis

H1= Quality of life for the participants in the home that incorporated Eden Alternative Model improved

H0= Quality of life...

The charts were then reviewed to see the people who satisfied the inclusion criteria. The MDS-CPS was employed for establishing the participant's cognitive status. The other instruments were also administered.
Microsoft Excel was then used for data entry while Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS ) v.17 was used to analyze the data.

In order to accurately establish the difference between the experimental and the control group, the pretest scores were compared with the posttest scores. This allowed the investigators to have control over the effects of factors such as testing and instrumentation, history, maturation and history (Campbell & Stanley,1963).

As was noted by Cook and Campbell (1979), an analysis of the difference between the pretest and the posttest scores is insufficient for determining the difference between the experimental and control group.

The frequency distribution of the pretest and the posttest were first determined. These frequency distributions were carefully examined for group mean, variances and skewed distribution. The significant differences that may exist between the two groups were then examined using a t-test. Co-variance analysis was then used so as to evaluate the level of significance of the change that was noted from the pre-to post intervention stage as suggested by Huck & McLean (1975).

Results

This study was aimed at evaluating the impact of the philosophy of the Eden Alternative on the participant's quality of life. In this study, the independent variable is the successful implementation of the concept of Eden Alternative while the dependent variable is the participant's quality of life. The Dementia Quality of Life instrument was used in the measurement of the participants' quality of life (Brod, Stewart, Sands & Walton,1999) iun an interview format.

The sample N=26 in the control environment and N=34 from the intervention institution.

Descriptive statistics of the Intervention Institution (N=34) and the control institution (N=27)

Intervention group

Control Group

Significance

Age (Mean Year +/- SD)

76

(10.790)

79

(11.900)

.2961

Length of stay

Mean Year +/- SD

37.79

(44.950)

44.04

(36.750)

.5561

1-denotes t-test

Dementia Quality of Life Tool indicated no significance difference between the two groups

UCLA Loneliness scale indicated a difference at the posttest stages

Geriatric Depression scales indicated a difference at the posttest stages

.Summary

The study indicated that the participants who are in a nursing home that implements the Eden Alternative model experience an improvement in their quality of life as evident from the reduction in the level of loneliness, helplessness and boredom.

Conclusion

This study has indicated that the Eden Alternative is indeed the best alternative for the institutionalized elderly since it effectively reduces the three plagues (loneliness, helplessness and boredom) while improving the quality of life anmd general well-being all of which are related to longevity.