Thriving in nursing homes in Norway: Contributing aspects described by residents

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2005.09.006Get rights and content

Abstract

Background and objectives: Knowledge about residents’ perception of what contributes to well-being and thriving in nursing homes is scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate mentally lucid residents’ perspective on what contributes to thriving in a nursing home.

Design: A qualitative study with a descriptive-exploratory design.

Settings: Two nursing homes in Norway.

Participants: 26 mentally lucid nursing home residents.

Methods: Data collection comprised participant observation and open-ended interviews.

Results: Two core aspects contributing to thriving were identified: The residents’ attitude towards living in a nursing home and the quality of care and caregivers. The residents’ attitude was the innermost core aspect. Five additional aspects contributing to thriving were identified: Positive peer relationships, participation in meaningful activities, opportunities to go outside the ward or nursing home, positive relationships with family, and qualities in the physical environment.

Conclusion: Several factors contribute to an experience of thriving. The findings challenge the ‘traditional’ passive role of residents by documenting their active contributions to their level of thriving in a nursing home.

Section snippets

What is already known about the topic?

  • The concept of thriving is described as a process of growth and development and as an emotional state of satisfaction or psychological wellbeing.

  • Quality care, family and peer-relations, participation in activities and a nice and pleasant environment contribute to well-being among residents in nursing homes.

  • An attitude of ‘making the best of it’ and having a legitimate reason for nursing home admission can make it easier to settle down and come to terms with life in a nursing home.

What this paper adds

  • In a nursing home context, a perception of thriving is the result of person-environment interactions that accommodate the individual needs and preferences of the residents.

  • Mentally lucid residents hold different attitudes towards living in the nursing home, which are decisive for whether or not they thrive.

  • The impact of quality care on the experience of thriving depends on the resident's mental attitude towards living in the nursing home.

Literature review

The concept of thriving has been explored from different theoretical perspectives, particularly in the social sciences (Bergland and Kirkevold, 2001; Carver, 1998; Petersen, 1995). In the following, thriving is described as a process of growth and development and as an emotional state, and related to relevant research on nursing home residents.

From a growth and development perspective, thriving is understood as a process and consequence of successful mastery of a stressful or adversarial event.

Method

This was a descriptive-exploratory study conducted within the interpretive tradition of Schutz, 1962, Schutz, 1975. In his social phenomenology of everyday life, Schutz (1975) argues that people live in a shared social world and that lived experiences are always interpreted by the individual persons. Schutz (1962) refers to these interpretations as ‘common-sense constructs’ (p. 5) or ‘constructs of first degree’ (p. 10). In order to develop systematic scientific knowledge about the meaning and

Findings

Several aspects, of differential importance, were described by the residents to contribute to thriving. Before discussing these aspects, it is important to clarify the perspective from which the residents talked about thriving in the nursing home.

Discussion

Several of the identified aspects contributing to thriving have been identified in the literature (Aller and Van Ess Coeling, 1995; Rantz et al., 1999). As in our study, the importance of caregivers has been emphasized (Chou et al., 2002; Rantz et al., 1999). However, the identified aspects have generally been discussed as if they were of equal importance (Guse and Masesar, 1999). Our findings indicate that this is not the case and that the different aspects impact differently depending on the

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