Paper
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Nursing Home Residents Tell Their Stories
Ubolrat Piamjariyakul, PhD, RN1, Roma Lee Taunton, PhD, RN, FAAN1, Valorie Wells, MA1, Sara Pedram, BS2, and Marjorie J. Bott, PhD, RN1. (1) School of Nursing MS 4043, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA, (2) Village Presbyterian Church, Prairie Village, KS, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Describe things that make nursing home residents happy or unhappy |
| Learning Objective #2: Identify nursing actions to meet residents' needs |
About 43% of persons over 65 will use a nursing home; about 20% of users will live there for 5 or more years. This study was designed to identify the factors that make nursing home residents happy or unhappy. Ten facilities in two Midwestern states were visited as part of a larger research project. Of the sample (n=245), 95% were 65 or older, 71% were women, and 6% were minorities. The descriptive, qualitative approach included face-to-face interviews with residents who were asked three questions: (a) What makes you happy here? (b) What makes you unhappy here? and (c) If you could have one special wish, what would it be? Three investigators simultaneously reviewed the residents' responses, assigning a code to each unique idea. The coded data were examined to confirm the fit to the respective label. Categories were identified to capture multiple codes for related ideas, and the categories were explored for higher level themes. Four themes emerged. Community captured residents' perceptions of their living environment, food, celebrations, and activities. Care comprised nursing, health, and spiritual care; homemaking services, and satisfaction with staff. Supportive relationships encompassed family, friends, and staff. Loss and grief derived from declining health, having to leave their home, and death of family and friends. Residents were happy when they were satisfied with staff and received good care. They described good care as having staff listen to what they say, respond quickly to call lights, handle them gently during care, and provide proper medications and treatments. Most respondents were coping with losses and had made an effective transition to the nursing home, but about 10% of them were “stuck” in tangible, unresolved grief for their homes. Our findings provide useful information for nursing home staff and for residents' families and friends.
Funded by: NIH, NINR (RO1 NR08028)