Abstract
Introduction
As a response to the increased demand for nursing home services for older adults, there are new initiatives include building larger nursing homes to accommodate greater numbers of residents. This initiative can be detrimental to those older residents who required to be relocated from their current nursing home to a new one. However, there is limited understanding about how older residents adapt to this relocation, particularly on how they tackle the various issues after relocation. Thereby hindering healthcare personnel to identify appropriate strategies to support older residents during the process of relocation. The aim of this poster is to present the experiences of older residents in the immediate period after relocating to a new nursing home.
Method
A descriptive qualitative approach was adopted. Purposive sampling was used to recruit twenty-four older residents, who were relocated from existing nursing home to a new nursing home, upon ethical approval was sought. Semi-structured interviews were conducted based on the “process of adjustment” framework after consent was obtained. Each interview lasted for around thirty minutes and audio-recorded. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Results
Four themes were identified namely: adaptation to the new environment, interaction with other residents, interaction with healthcare personnel, and changes to their daily life. In particular, participants highlighted changes to their daily routines and interactions with others, but most of them expressed positivity about their relocation to the new nursing home.
Conclusion
The results illuminate the initial experiences of older residents required to relocate from their nursing ‘home’ to another with no choice. These findings will inform further interviews over time to help inform person-centred care for residents, the role of carers and service providers, and the care environment.
Comments
Would be interested to hear more about the positive aspects of the relocation. I always understood that moving homes was very traumatic for residents, leading to higher death rates.
I presume the new facility was seen as somehow 'better', or what else was positive about the move?