Nursing home placement: Perspectives of community-dwelling older persons

Nursing home placement: perspectives of community-dwelling older personsObjectives. To explore nursing home-related beliefs among older Hong Kong Chinese and identify strategies that make nursing homes a better place to live. Background. Increased life expectancy has markedly increased the prevalence of age-related disease and disability, which limits the self-caring ability of older persons. Nursing home placement offers one possible alternative. However, the perspectives of older persons on nursing home admission have been seriously neglected and under-reported. Methods. The research was a qualitative descriptive study. Clients of a community centre for older people were approached and invited for an interview. Results. Participants included 118 older persons (61 female and 57 male) age from 60-89 years. Ninety per cent had chronic diseases and needed regular follow-up. Half of participants had never visited a nursing home. Of them, 85% would not want to live in a nursing home upon getting old and their nursing home-related beliefs were found to be negative. Participants expressed the feeling of being abandoned by their family members, insecure and lonely regarding the nursing home placement. Living in a nursing home was considered as 'living in jail' and that their privacy would be lost. Nevertheless, positive aspects of nursing home placement were mentioned, and strategies were explored that would make nursing homes a better place for older people to live. Relevance to Clinical Practice. Positive aspects of nursing home placement need to be promoted. Nurses should be advocates for the health of the elderly, and help make nursing homes a better place to live.