Expressed emotions and experiences from relatives regarding having a family member living in a nursing home for older people.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to describe the topics relatives with a family member in a nursing home for older persons choose to talk about and focus on when participating in a nurse-led "Family Health Conversations" intervention. Family Health Conversations consisted of a series of three nurse-led conversations with each family, with a 2-week interval between meetings.

Methods

The Family Health Conversations meetings were tape-recorded and analyzed using qualitative content methods. The participants were relatives of family members living in a nursing home for older persons in a municipality in Sweden.

Results

The findings showed how the relatives talked about their suffering and difficulties concerning the new situation. The relatives talked about frustration and sadness together in a new way, with a focus on how to manage the future. They also wished that they had been offered an opportunity to talk about this with nurses earlier in the illness trajectory.

Conclusion

The relatives had a significant need to talk about their experiences together within the family and together with the nurses. Nurses have an especially important task in supporting relatives having a family member living in a nursing home.

SUBMITTER: Dorell A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6329026 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature