Abstract
Maintaining dignity. The perspective of nursing home residents
Coping with vulnerability
Purpose. The overall purpose of this cross-country Nordic study was to gain further knowledge about dignity in nursing homes and the circumstances which may have an impact on it. The aim of this part of the study is to present the results, exploring nursing home residents’ experiences on how dignity is maintained.
Background. Elderly living in nursing homes are vulnerable which appeal to nursing care ethics and emphasise the importance of care for human dignity. There have been several attempts to define dignity as a theoretical concept, but few studies on how dignity is maintained from the perspective of the nursing home residents.
Method. This qualitative study has an explorative design, based on qualitative individual research interviews. Twenty-eight nursing home residents were included from six nursing homes in Scandi-navia. A phenomenological-hermeneutic approach, inspired by Ricoeur was used to understand the meaning of the narrated text.
Findings. The residents’ experiences revealed one main theme and seven sub-themes contributing to maintain dignity. The overall theme was: Coping with vulnerability and the subthemes were: Attention and care for basic needs; preserving a positive body image; feeling recognised and valued as a person of worth; Abilities and opportunities for changing of lifevalues; to exert control; to form and maintain meaningful relationships and to participation in meaningful activity.
Conclusion. Although there is no one way to maintain dignity, the themes may be used as a frame-work to understand what nursing home residents tend to value and support dignity in the context of vulnerable situations in eldercare.
Coping with vulnerability
Purpose. The overall purpose of this cross-country Nordic study was to gain further knowledge about dignity in nursing homes and the circumstances which may have an impact on it. The aim of this part of the study is to present the results, exploring nursing home residents’ experiences on how dignity is maintained.
Background. Elderly living in nursing homes are vulnerable which appeal to nursing care ethics and emphasise the importance of care for human dignity. There have been several attempts to define dignity as a theoretical concept, but few studies on how dignity is maintained from the perspective of the nursing home residents.
Method. This qualitative study has an explorative design, based on qualitative individual research interviews. Twenty-eight nursing home residents were included from six nursing homes in Scandi-navia. A phenomenological-hermeneutic approach, inspired by Ricoeur was used to understand the meaning of the narrated text.
Findings. The residents’ experiences revealed one main theme and seven sub-themes contributing to maintain dignity. The overall theme was: Coping with vulnerability and the subthemes were: Attention and care for basic needs; preserving a positive body image; feeling recognised and valued as a person of worth; Abilities and opportunities for changing of lifevalues; to exert control; to form and maintain meaningful relationships and to participation in meaningful activity.
Conclusion. Although there is no one way to maintain dignity, the themes may be used as a frame-work to understand what nursing home residents tend to value and support dignity in the context of vulnerable situations in eldercare.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Publikationsdato | 2 okt. 2014 |
| Status | Udgivet - 2 okt. 2014 |
Emneord
- etik