The impact of the Eden Alternative on hope

Abstract

CPD reflective questions z z Think about how you could increase hope among care residents. z z How could aspects of the Eden philosophy be implemented in care homes, such as helping residents achieve meaningful goals, feel secure, have a sense of belonging and feel valued? z z How can nurses minimise the three plagues of helplessness, boredom and loneliness among care home residents? Key points z Nursing home residents display hopelessness, which is a strong predictor of adverse health outcomes z In addition to reducing helplessness, loneliness and boredom, the Eden Alternative promotes hope among people living in nursing homes z Additional rigorous clinical research on the effect of the Eden Alternative on hope is necessary There were no significant differences for the other eight hope indicators. Perhaps this is because, while the EA addresses ways to combat the three plagues, it does not specifically address these characteristics of hopelessness (Herdman and Kimitsuru, 2014).

Situating Eden—Culture change in residential aged care: A scoping review

“…Kubsch et al 34 in their study investigating the impact of hope on well‐being noted significant differences in relation to social interaction that could be directly attributed to the physical environment at each site. Despite the age of the building, effort had been made to make it welcoming, and all residents were encouraged to participate in social activities, intergenerational programs and to be involved in the garden and the care of the pets.…”

“…Six of the final studies selected for review evaluated the implementation of Eden as a model of culture change using a quantitative methodology design 28‐31,34,36 . Each of the six studies had a different research focus, clinical indicators, 31 quality of life, 30,33 resident depression and family satisfaction, 28 staff empowerment 32 and resident experience of hope 34 …”

“…A study undertaken in the United States by Kubsch et al concluded that residents at the Eden intervention site experienced increased hope and, as significantly, a demonstrated ‘will to live’ 34 (p. 93) not identified at the control site. The researchers employed a Likert 4‐scale instrument 1 = never and 4 = always in a questionnaire measuring indicators or hope.…”

“…Bergman‐Evans 30 discussed the challenges of conducting research in aged care and limited generalisability due to the significant variables of resident cognition and attrition. Kubsch et al 34 acknowledged the homogeneity of their sample being only Caucasian and most were female. Fazio et al 38 while appreciating the benefits of person‐centred care found there is a need to articulate how the principles can be implemented in practice.…”

“…The ability to control for differences in participant health decline and co‐morbidity and variables such as the demographic influences and even the effect of the architectural design is a challenge for researchers in residential aged care 23,30,33,34 …”