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The significance of meaningful and enjoyable activities for nursing home resident's experiences of dignity
Author(s) -
Slettebø Åshild,
Sæteren Berit,
Caspari Synnøve,
Lohne Vibeke,
Rehnsfeldt Arne Wilhelm,
Heggestad Anne Kari Tolo,
Lillestø Britt,
Høy Bente,
Råholm MajBritt,
Lindwall Lillemor,
Aasgaard Trygve,
Nåden Dagfinn
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of caring sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1471-6712
pISSN - 0283-9318
DOI - 10.1111/scs.12386
Subject(s) - dignity , nursing , qualitative research , meaning (existential) , nursing homes , perception , medicine , content analysis , psychology , sociology , social science , neuroscience , political science , law , psychotherapist
Background Living in a nursing home may be challenging to the residents’ experience of dignity. Residents’ perception of how their dignity is respected in everyday care is important. Aim To examine how nursing home residents experience dignity through the provision of activities that foster meaning and joy in their daily life. Method A qualitative design was used and 28 individual semistructured interviews conducted with nursing home residents from six nursing homes in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The data were analysed with qualitative content analysis. Independent ethical committees in all participating countries granted their approval for the study. Findings The participants highlight two dimensions of the activities that foster experiences of dignity in nursing homes in Scandinavia. These two categories were (i) fostering dignity through meaningful participation and (ii) fostering dignity through experiencing enjoyable individualised activities. Conclusion Activities are important for residents to experience dignity in their daily life in nursing homes. However, it is important to tailor the activities to the individual and to enable the residents to take part actively. Nurses should collect information about the resident's preferences for participation in activities at the nursing home.