Paper
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Spouse Caregiver Transitions: Nursing Home Placement
Lola M. Johnson, DNSc, MSN, BSN, RN, Department of Nursing, Winona State University - Rochester Center, Rochester, MN, USA
| Learning Objective #1: correlate caregiver transitions following nursing home placement of their spouse, with Alzheimer's disease, at intervals of two, seven, and twelve weeks following placement. |
| Learning Objective #2: relate the ability of the spouse caregiver to 'Paint a Picture' in their mind describing their transitions. |
Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic degenerative illness of the central nervous system affecting an increasing number of individuals and families. Frequently, spouses assume the primary caregiver role and provide home-based care. When home-based care becomes too difficult for the spouse caregiver, the care recipient may be placed in a nursing home for continued care. The aim of this descriptive, interpretive, longitudinal study was to gain insight into the lived experience of caregivers placing spouses in nursing homes, and the transitions they experience two weeks, seven weeks, and twelve weeks following placement. The theoretical/conceptual framework was a combination of transition theory and chronic illness trajectory. The study involved a convenience sample of ten spouse caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease who recently experienced nursing home placement. This qualitative study evolved from two qualitative pilot studies each involving additional samples of ten spouse caregivers. This research suggests that the spouse caregiver does experience transitions as a result of placing a loved one in a nursing home. Three themes with subcategories were derived from the data. The three themes were: nursing home placement; perceptions; and emotions. Three major transition patterns were identified. The major transition patterns were moving on, progressing slowly, and split-lives.