Department of Health, Blekinge Institute of Technology, SE-371 45, Karlskrona, Sweden.
Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, SE-221 00, Lund, Sweden.
BMC Geriatr. 2015 Dec 17;15:168. doi: 10.1186/s12877-015-0172-3.
Complex health systems make it difficult for older persons (75+) with multi-morbidity to achieve continuity of care. Case management could be one way to address this difficulty. Currently, there is a need to extend the knowledge regarding case management as experienced by those utilising the services, namely older persons (75+) with multi-morbidity. The study aimed to explore older persons' (75+) with multi-morbidity experiences of case managers.
The study design was qualitative and used a focused ethnographic approach. Data was collected through individual interviews with 13 older persons and by participant observations with accompanying field notes, all conducted in 2012-2013.
The data revealed four themes illustrating the older persons' experiences of case managers: 1) Someone providing me with a trusting relationship; 2) Someone assisting me; 3) Someone who is on my side; and 4) Someone I do not need at present.
This study illustrates the importance of establishing trusting relationships between older persons and their case managers in order to truly provide assistance. The older persons valued the case managers acting as informed but unbiased facilitators. The findings could be of help in the development of case management interventions better designed for older persons with multi-morbidity.
复杂的医疗体系使得患有多种疾病的老年人（75 岁以上）难以实现医疗护理的连续性。病例管理可能是解决这一难题的一种方法。目前，需要扩展那些使用服务的人（即患有多种疾病的 75 岁以上老年人）对病例管理的了解。本研究旨在探讨患有多种疾病的老年人对病例管理人员的体验。
研究设计为定性研究，并采用了聚焦民族志方法。数据通过对 13 名老年人的个体访谈和伴随现场笔记的参与性观察收集，均于 2012-2013 年进行。
数据揭示了四个主题，说明老年人对病例管理人员的体验：1）提供我信任关系的人；2）帮助我的人；3）站在我这边的人；4）目前我不需要的人。
本研究说明了在老年人与其病例管理人员之间建立信任关系的重要性，以便真正提供帮助。老年人重视病例管理人员作为知情但公正的促进者的作用。这些发现可能有助于开发针对患有多种疾病的老年人的病例管理干预措施，这些干预措施的设计更加合理。
