Life situation and daily life in a nursing home as described by nursing home residents in Sweden.

Aims and objectives.  The overall aim of this study was to investigate nursing home residents' opinion of their life situation in a nursing home and of their earlier life. Background.  Few studies have focused on residents' perception of their daily life and life situation in nursing homes. Design.  A qualitative explorative design was used. Methods.  Residents in a nursing home were interviewed and qualitative content analysis was performed. Results.  The views of life residents described and how they apprehended their situation were quite different. The findings give an understanding of what it is like to live in a nursing home and show that residents apprehend their situation in very different ways. All individuals who were content with their situation in the nursing home were also content with their earlier life. Relevance to clinical practice.  For the nurse in gerontological care, it is a challenge to get to know each resident and to provide the best nursing care and the best individual treatment for each resident. Another challenge is to help each resident find a life in the nursing home that is acceptable for him/her, and one aspect of this involves helping residents in their ageing process. The present study highlights what an important role staff have in relation with nursing home residents.