Caring for Clients and Families With Anxiety

Abstract

This study elucidated Japanese home care nurses’ experiences of supporting clients and families with anxiety. We interviewed 10 registered nurses working in home care agencies and analyzed the data using grounded theory to derive categories pertaining to the nurses’ experiences of providing care. We conceptualized nurses’ approaches to caring for anxiety into three categories: First, they attempted to reach out for anxiety even when the client/family did not make it explicit; second, they tried to alter the outlook of the situation; and third, they created comfort in the lives of the client/family. The conceptualizations of nurses’ strategies to alleviate client/family anxiety may reflect Japanese/Eastern cultural characteristics in communication and their view of the person and social care system, but these conceptualizations may also inform the practice of Western nurses by increasing awareness of skills they may also have and use.

A purposeful Yet Nonimposing Approach: How Japanese Home Care Nurses Establish Relationships With Older Clients and Their Families

“…It was found that making the clients/family members comfortable was critical to encourage them to openly share their opinions and concerns, which the nurses need to plan a better program of care. This finding supports those of previous studies stating that Japanese nurses attempt to create enabling favorable environment in which clients/family members can easily open up their anxieties (Yamamoto-Mitani, Noguchi-Watanabe, & Fukahori, 2016). The Japanese tend to read the covert context for mutual understanding in communication (Takahashi & Fuse, 2012; Takemura & Kanda, 2003; Tsujimura et al, 2016), and clients/family members sometimes hesitate to verbalize feelings and problems (Yamaguchi et al, 2016; Yamamoto-Mitani et al, 2016).…”

“…Since home care nurses are not readily available to clients/families 24 hr each day, a sense of connectedness is important. Connectedness to the clients/family members allows them to not feel alone in the midst of challenge to difficulty or anxious (Mok & Chiu, 2004; Yamamoto-Mitani et al, 2016). The presence of a person to share ideas may also be a type of assistance.…”

Accessing community dementia care services in Ireland: Emotional barriers for caregivers

“…A lack of awareness of the caregiver's sense of self-embarrassment could potentially impede the healthcare professional's ability to provide high-quality, appropriate care as the care needs are not fully captured within the care review. Research has shown that PHPs directly asking caregivers about emotional duress is not effective (Yamamoto-Mitani et al, 2016). Instead, alternative means such as actively building person-to-person relationships and trust is needed for both the caregiver and professional to raise and discuss care issues.…”

Mitigation of Workplace Bullying by Increasing Awareness of the Negative Impact It Causes on Employee Behavior

“…Anxiety is a mental state of fear or nervousness about what might happen. It is a common feeling that many health professionals, including those with various health problems, experience daily (Yamamoto-Mitani et al, 2016).…”