Re-Construct Self-Care Independence Among Elders Living in Long-Term Care Facilities: From Family Caregivers' Perspective

Monday, 30 July 2012

Su-Hsien Chang, PhD, RN, MSN
Department of Eldercare, National Tainan Institute of Nursing, Tainan City, Taiwan
Tzu-Chun Chen, MA
Department of Health, Tainan Hospital, Tainan City, Taiwan
Ching-Len Yu, PhD
Department of Environmental Engineering, Kun San University, Tainan City, Taiwan
Hsueh-Jen Ho, MSN, RN
Nursing, National Tainan Institute of Nursing, Tainan, Taiwan

Learning Objective 1: To undertsnad how staff and family caregivers work together to re-construct self-care independence among elders living in long-term care facilities.

Learning Objective 2: To undertsand how to build a Partnership aimed at improving or maintaining self-care ability among elders living in long-term care facilities.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how staff and family caregivers work together to re-construct self-care independence among elders living in long-term care facilities. This study used a qualitative approach to gain a deeper understanding how family and staff caregivers, and elders work together to re-construct self-care independence among elders living in long-term care facilities. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews with elders’ family caregivers. There were 44 families of elders participate this study. Results found three interrelated factors on re-construct self-care independence among residents in long-term care facilities. There were: 1) family members’ attitudes/behaviors and concerns, 2) residents’ characteristics and attitudes, and 3) staff caregivers’ attitudes/behaviors. Hence, family caregivers indicated staff and family caregivers and elders should work together. The ways of working together included: setting goals, building trust relationship between staff and family caregivers, and report the elder’s condition to families via staff caregivers. However, results of this study can provided academia, elders and their family members, and staff caregivers of long-term care facilities to build a partnership and set a mutual goal, aimed at improving self-care performance among residents in long-term care facilities.