CONTROL ISSUES FOR RESIDENTS OF LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES (NURSING HOME RESIDENTS).
Contributors: Union Institute (U.S.)
Published: 1993
Number of pages: 129
Subjects: Psychology, Clinical.; Health Sciences, Nursing.; Gerontology.
Description: Beery's study demonstrates through case studies and review of the literature the effect that loss of control has on residents in long-term care facilities. This study includes various techniques or measures that can be taken to give the resident an increased sense of control, dignity, and well-being. This study was based on the hypothesis that the sense of well-being of elderly residents in long-term care facilities is in direct proportion to the perception that they control their environment and care. Evidence was found to support this hypothesis in the review of the literature as well as through the case study.

This research is applied, descriptive, qualitative research using the case study paradigm. It is phenomenological in approach in order to better understand the social phenomena from the resident's perspective.

Ten case studies took place in their natural setting in several nursing homes to demonstrate first hand how quickly residents feel a loss of control once they enter the facility. The background, current status, and environmental interactions of the residents were studied individually and within the community of the nursing home facility. The case studies demonstrate actions by staff, family, guardians, and/or friends that contribute to increased feelings of helplessness and hopelessness and that lead to actual or perceived loss of control. Included are alternative actions that could have taken place to avoid those desperate feelings.

This study found ways to alleviate the negative connotation that "a nursing home is a place where one waits to die". It assists in enhancing the resident's lives by restoring or preserving their dignity by offering a sense of control over their own lives.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-02, Section: B, page: 1087.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNION INSTITUTE, 1993.

School code: 1033.