Application of Moos and Schaefer's (1986) model to nursing care of elderly persons relocating to a nursing home.

Elderly persons relocating to a nursing home experience a life transition that they usually perceive as a crisis. Effective coping with this transition/crisis requires effective management of the event. Nurses caring for these persons are challenged to assess and intervene to assist them to achieve positive outcomes from this transition. Moos & Schaefer's (1986) Conceptual Model for Understanding Life Crises and Transitions depicts a process by which nurses may help elderly persons cope effectively with relocation to a nursing home. This paper describes the model and its application to the nursing care of elderly persons relocating to a nursing home, including a case study. The extent to which the model has been empirically tested with populations in long-term care settings is critically analysed.