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‘Finding home’: a grounded theory on how older people ‘find home’ in long‐term care settings
Author(s) -
Cooney Adeline
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
international journal of older people nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.707
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1748-3743
pISSN - 1748-3735
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-3743.2011.00278.x
Subject(s) - grounded theory , long term care , nursing homes , older people , term (time) , nursing , psychology , gerontology , gerontological nursing , medicine , qualitative research , sociology , social science , physics , quantum mechanics
cooney a. (2011) ‘Finding home’: a grounded theory on how older people ‘find home’ in long‐term care settings. International Journal of Older People Nursing 7 , 188–199
doi: 10.1111/j.1748‐3743.2011.00278.x Background. A link between residents ‘feeling at home’ in long‐term care facilities and ‘quality of life’ is emerging in the literature. Few studies, however, have focused on what helps residents to find a home in long‐term care settings. This study aimed to fill this gap. Aim. This study aimed to understand older peoples’ perceptions of ‘being at home’ in long‐term care settings and the factors that influence these perceptions. Design. Grounded theory guided the study design. Residents ( n = 61) living in public or private long‐term care settings were interviewed using unstructured interviews. Findings. Four categories were identified as critical to finding a home in long‐term care settings: ‘continuity’, ‘preserving personal identity’, ‘belonging’ and ‘being active and working’. ‘Finding Home’ was conceptualised as the core category. The potential to ‘find home’ was influenced by mediating and facilitating/constraining factors. Conclusions. The Theory of Finding Home was generated from the data. This theory describes the factors critical to ‘finding home’ in long‐term care settings. Implications for practice. The Theory of Finding Home gives insight into what matters to older people living in long‐term care settings. Strategies to help generate a feeling of home in long‐term care settings are shared.