How older people perceive and experience sense of security when moving into and living in a nursing home: a case study

ABSTRACT

Sense of security is important throughout the lifespan not at least in advanced age with increased risks of functional declines and decreased social capital. Despite this, knowledge concerning older person’s perceptions and experiences of sense of security when moving into nursing homes is scarce. This study is a longitudinal, descriptive, exploratory case study with in-depth interviews and observations of three older persons in the age of 87, 88, and 91 years in a mid-sized municipality in the south of Sweden, in order to highlight how sense of security is experienced when moving into and living in a nursing home. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis, which resulted in one main theme and four categories. The main theme, ‘Adaptation and sense of security’, indicates older persons’ need to adapt to the new context of the nursing home, and how this relates to their sense of security. The categories – ‘Control’, ‘Struggling for understanding’, ‘Lack of influence’, and ‘Grasping’ – suggest that older persons’ sense of security is reduced when they must adjust to routines without sufficient management and understanding. When able to maintain control over daily routines, and felt as a part of the new context, they perceived a sense of security.

ABSTRAKT

Trygghet är viktigt genom hela livet, inte minst som äldre med tilltagande funktionedsättningar. Kunskap behövs gällande äldre personers uppfattning av trygghet i flytt från ordinärt till särskilt boende. Syftet med studien var att öka förståelsen av hur äldre personer med skiftande omsorgsbehov uppfattar och erfar trygghet, i flytt från ordinärt till särskilt boende. En explorativ fallstudie med intervjuer och observation av tre äldre personer i åldrarna 87, 88 och 91 år genomfördes över en tidsperiod på 3 -4 månader; före flytten till särskilt boende; 3 -5 dagar efter flytt; 2 -4 veckor efter flytt då genomförandeplanen ägde rum och slutligen efter 12 -16 veckor efter flytt. Vid varje intervjutillfälle användes samma fokusområden och följdfrågor. Kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes för att analysera datamaterialet, vilket resulterade i ett huvudtema och fyra kategorier. Huvudtemat indikerar äldre personer genom hela flyttprocessen behöver anpassa sig till den nya miljön på särskilt boende för att uppleva trygghet. Anpassning till de nya rutinerna gav visserligen struktur i vardagen och uppfattades som en säkerhet, men inte nödvändigtvis som trygghet. Då de äldre personerna kunde behålla kontrollen och kunskapen över dagliga rutiner, och kände sig som en del av den nya sammanhang uppfattas de en känsla av trygghet.

KEYWORDS:

• Case study
• control
• routines
• in-depth interviews
• sense of security

NYCKELORD:

• fallstudie
• upplevelse av kontroll
• rutiner
• djupintervju
• känsla av trygghet

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Martina Boström has a PhD in gerontology and works at the Institute of Gerontology and in the profile area “ageing - living conditions and health”. Basically, Martina is trained in public health science, focusing on pedagogy. Her research focuses of how older people with varying care needs perceive and experience sense of security, in old age care. Resent research concerns how older persons wish to stay as older with focus on sense of security and participating.

Marie Ernsth Bravell is a registered nurse and associate professor in Gerontology at Jönköping University. She is also an elder strategist in municipality of Jönköping. Her research is mainly focused on functional ability in the ageing process and factors related to old age care. The aim with her research is to better understand factors that determine needs and use of care and social services among older persons, and also to understand how the old age care is perceived in order to develop the same.

Anita Björklund is full professor in Occupational Therapy at Jönköping University, School of Health and Welfare. Her main research interest concerns older persons' and disabled persons' participation in societal life. Recent research concerns the prolonged work life and what makes people over 65 years of age to choose, want to, and allowed to work after pensionable age.

Jonas Sandberg is associate professor in Nursing Science at Jönköping University and affiliated senior researcher at Palliative Research Center at Ersta Sköndal University College, Stockholm. His research fields include gerontological nursing, palliative care, late life transitions and gender aspects on informal caregiving. He has published widely in those topics. Recent research has a focus on identity work closed to death and domestic violence in informal caring relations.