Naik MHSc Prathima, Ueland PhD Venke Irene
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway.
SAGE Open Nurs. 2020 Dec 17;6:2377960820980361. doi: 10.1177/2377960820980361. eCollection 2020 Jan-Dec.
Elderly people who leave their home environment and move to a nursing home enter a phase in life with diminishing contact with family and friends. This situation often results in a feeling of loneliness with a concomitant deterioration in physical and mental health. By exploring the topic through the lens of the nurses, this study takes a novel approach to address an under-researched area in the nursing field.
The objective of the study was to identify, based on the nurses' experience, how elderly residents handle loneliness in the nursing home.
This study used a qualitative explorative approach with data collected through two focus group interviews with nine nurses at two elderly care facilities in Norway. The resulting transcripts were examined using an approach based on inductive content analysis.
Three main categories emerged as crucial to help lonely nursing home residents cope with day-to-day life: (i) maintaining ties to one's earlier life; (ii) engaging in recreational pursuits; and (iii) building new networks.
Analysing the findings based on sense of coherence (SOC) and person-centred care (PCC) theories illustrates the importance of maintaining a connection with both family and friends. To that point, having access to familiar objects from their earlier life seemingly provides meaning to the residents by bridging the past and the present. Recreational activities, ideally adapted to each person's needs and ability, have a positive impact by providing structure and meaning that help overtake feelings of loneliness. Building a new network with fellow residents and staff imparts a sense of meaningful community belonging and projects both dignity and self-worth.
离开家庭环境搬入养老院的老年人进入了一个与家人和朋友联系日益减少的人生阶段。这种情况常常导致孤独感，并伴随着身心健康的恶化。本研究通过护士的视角来探讨这一话题，采用了一种新颖的方法来解决护理领域中一个研究不足的领域。
本研究的目的是根据护士的经验，确定老年居民在养老院中如何应对孤独感。
本研究采用定性探索性方法，通过对挪威两家老年护理机构的九名护士进行两次焦点小组访谈收集数据。使用基于归纳内容分析的方法对生成的记录进行检查。
出现了三个对帮助孤独的养老院居民应对日常生活至关重要的主要类别：（i）与早年生活保持联系；（ii）参与娱乐活动；（iii）建立新的社交网络。
基于连贯感（SOC）和以人为主的护理（PCC）理论对研究结果进行分析，说明了与家人和朋友保持联系的重要性。就此而言，能够接触到早年生活中的熟悉物品似乎通过连接过去和现在为居民赋予了意义。娱乐活动，理想情况下根据每个人的需求和能力进行调整，通过提供有助于克服孤独感的结构和意义而产生积极影响。与其他居民和工作人员建立新的社交网络会带来一种有意义的社区归属感，并体现出尊严和自我价值感。
