Quality of life in nursing home settings: Perspectives from elderly residents with frailty

Abstract

Frailty in older people is a challenge for governments, policy makers and healthcare professionals. It decreases quality of life (QoL) in older people, particularly those in nursing home settings. By adopting exploratory qualitative design with focus group interviews, this study aimed to explore perception of QoL in Chinese nursing home residents with frailty to inform nursing care strategies for improving the QoL of Chinese nursing home residents with frailty. Twenty-four Chinese nursing home residents with the frailty scores of 2 or above and at least 18 in the Mini Mental State Examination formed four focus groups to share their views on QoL. Analyzed by qualitative content analysis, the focus group data identified five themes -physical well-being to maximize independence in self-care, peace of mind to cope with irreversible impairment, connection to society, fulfillment of basic needs, and harmony in interpersonal relationships -and four sub-themes.

Older Adult Residents' Perceptions of Daily Lives in Nursing Homes

“…They were afraid of losing their humanity as their physical and cognitive function deteriorated. This is consistent with the findings of previous studies (Chang, ; Kwong et al., ). Elderly residents were eager to maintain their physical function to recover their roles (Chang, ) and perceived the deteriorating physical function as a loss of control over their lives (Kwong et al., ); thus, they were most concerned about this.…”

“…However, they tried to accept and adapt to life in an NH. These findings are largely consistent with previously published research (Bradshaw, Playford, & Riazi, ; Chang, ; Hall, Opio, Dodd, & Higginson, ; Hjaltadottir & Gustafsdottir, ; Kwong, Lai, & Liu, ; Murphy, Cooney, & Casey, ; Robichaud, Durand, Bedard, & Ouellet, ; Schenk, Meyer, Behr, Kuhlmey, & Holzhausen, ).…”

Attitudes and needs of residents in long‐term care facilities regarding physical activity—A systematic review and synthesis of qualitative studies

“…If they can act autonomously and perform self‐care and necessary daily activities, their quality of life will increase. These results are confirmed by the study of Kwong, Lai, and Liu () as well as other previous studies which pointed out this strong association between mobility and quality of life (Geneen et al, ; Stadnyk, Chamberlain, Warner, Earl, & Nickerson Rak, ). Residents know that staying physically active can help them improve their physical and mental conditions.…”

Nursing home quality of life in the Lebanon

“…There is a general agreement that quality of life is subjective, individualistic and multidimensional, as there are a number of different factors associated with it, all with their own significance (Mollenkopf and Walker, 2007;Bowling et al, 2015). In addition, one's feelings and judgment about his/her quality of life are embedded in his/her personal values, goals, histories, cultures, and life experiences (Kwong et al, 2014).…”

“…They also identified some unique concerns for quality of life while living in nursing homes, including connectedness (community, family, and religion), individuality (private space, personal possessions), personal identity (maintaining a sense of self and appearance) and professionalism (working attitude of nurses and individual care) (Kwong et al, 2014 (Mollenkopf and Walker, 2007). However, up until the reporting of this study, contemporary research literature has lacked a Middle-Eastern perspective on the meaning and construction of quality of life in nursing homes.…”