A Phenomenological Study on the Adaptation Experience on Nursing Home Admission among Senior Patients

Jeong, Jae Yeon; Kim, Yeong Kyeong

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the constituents and structure of adaptation experiences in their everyday life among senior patients of a nursing home in order to provide nursing intervention data for the satisfaction and the improvement of life of senior patients by appreciating the nature of their adaptational experience.
METHODS
The participants were five female and one male senior patients who were 65-years old or older and admitted at a nursing home in a metropolitan city. The interview data were analyzed by the Giorgi's phenomenological analysis method.
RESULTS
As the results of analysis, the following three constituents have been found out: retrospective focus based on the meaning of admission, expanding a view and facing up to the reality, reconstructing views about the meaning of life and the world.
CONCLUSION
With the increasing number of senior in facilities, nurses not only play a key role in caring for seniors but also in managing their maladaptation. Thus, it is considered that the results obtained from the this study provide valuable information for both the senior patients and their families as well as for the nurses, by presenting the data about senior patients' adaptational experiences of nursing home admission.