This study highlights the experiences of 15 formal caregivers, during interactions with elderly residents suffering from dementia disease and showing aggressive behaviour. The purpose was to study caregivers' reflections about and attitudes to behavioural and psychiatric symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and how they dealt with the symptoms. This was done by comparing care units with high or low levels of aggressive behaviour in residents. A phenomenological-hermeneutic approach was used for the analysis of the interviews. The main themes that emerged were: a need for balance between demands and competence; and a need for support. The findings indicated the importance of a balance for the residents as well as for the caregivers, if a positive relationship was to develop. Furthermore, caregivers stated that support was crucial, not only for the residents but also for themselves, if they were expected to cope with demanding situations. Different types of support were necessary and included: confirmation, feedback, and supervision. Residents who feel appreciated and respected may be less likely to act out their frustrations in an inappropriate manner. Caregivers who strive to understand the meaning behind a resident's behaviour and who master the necessary care-giving skills, and their implementation, could be more successful at curbing distressing behaviour, than caregivers who act merely in a custodial role.

This study describes which clinical ethics approaches are available to support healthcare personnel in clinical practice in terms of their construction, functions and goals. Healthcare personnel frequently face ethically difficult situations in the course of their work and these issues cover a wide range of areas from prenatal care to end-of-life care. Although various forms of clinical ethics support have been developed, to our knowledge there is a lack of review studies describing which ethics support approaches are available, how they are constructed and their goals in supporting healthcare personnel in clinical practice. This study engages in an integrative literature review. We searched for peer-reviewed academic articles written in English between 2000 and 2016 using specific Mesh terms and manual keywords in CINAHL, MEDLINE and Psych INFO databases. In total, 54 articles worldwide described clinical ethics support approaches that include clinical ethics consultation, clinical ethics committees, moral case deliberation, ethics rounds, ethics discussion groups, and ethics reflection groups. Clinical ethics consultation and clinical ethics committees have various roles and functions in different countries. They can provide healthcare personnel with advice and recommendations regarding the best course of action. Moral case deliberation, ethics rounds, ethics discussion groups and ethics reflection groups support the idea that group reflection increases insight into ethical issues. Clinical ethics support in the form of a “bottom-up” perspective might give healthcare personnel opportunities to think and reflect more than a “top-down” perspective. A “bottom-up” approach leaves the healthcare personnel with the moral responsibility for their choice of action in clinical practice, while a “top-down” approach risks removing such moral responsibility.

The use of an app should be considered as a useful information and communication technology innovation that can improve communication and accessibility for older people with home-based health care.

The aim of this study was to describe, through observations and interviews with patients >/=75 years old and the relatives who accompanied them to the hospital, the conditions at the emergency department (ED) and the events that took place during the waiting period. Twenty older patients were studied, together with their relatives. A modification of a comparative design, the interpretative method 'grounded theory', was utilized. Open, nonparticipant observations were carried out; from the time patients were admitted until the time they were discharged. Patients were observed through all stages, for example, in the reception area, in the examination room, and in the X-ray department. The observations were supplemented with field notes and interviews with the older patients as they left the ED. The selective coding developed into six core-variables that were the focus of the material. These were: unpleasant waiting, unnecessary waiting, lack of good routines during the waiting stage, suffering during the waiting stage, bad feelings during the waiting stage and nursing care during the waiting stage. The way, in which nursing care was carried out, which in this context is discussed in terms of praxis and poieses, appeared to be of major importance for the older peoples' experiences when visiting the ED.