Palliative care needs of chronically ill nursing home residents in Germany: focusing on living, not dying

To explore the palliative care needs of nursing home residents in Germany who had not yet entered the dying phase. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of nine residents suffering from chronic disease or frailty. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed using...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of palliative nursing Vol. 17; no. 1; p. 27
Main Authors Strohbuecker, Barbara, Eisenmann, Yvonne, Galushko, Maren, Montag, Thomas, Voltz, Raymond
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.01.2011
Subjects
Chronic Disease
Death
Family
Germany
Health Services Needs and Demand
Nursing Homes
Palliative Care
Patient Satisfaction
Spirituality
Germany
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Summary:To explore the palliative care needs of nursing home residents in Germany who had not yet entered the dying phase. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of nine residents suffering from chronic disease or frailty. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed using a grounded theory approach. The residents described multidimensional needs, which were categorized as 'being recognized as a person', 'having a choice and being in control', 'being connected to family and the world outside', 'being spiritually connected', and 'physical comfort'. They emphasized their desire to control everyday matters. Physical impairment was a problem, especially when independence was threatened, e.g. by immobility or a reliance on pain killers. The desire for self-determination is key when designing and evaluating primary and palliative care programmes for nursing homes. Early integration of palliative care can improve the quality of life of chronically ill residents.
ISSN:1357-6321
DOI:10.12968/ijpn.2011.17.1.27