Family members' involvement in elder care provision in nursing homes and their considerations about financial compensation: a qualitative study

Reimagining Family Involvement in Residential Long-Term Care

Although descriptions of family involvement in residential long-term care (RLTC) are available in the scientific literature, how family involvement is optimized in nursing homes or assisted living settings remains underexplored. During the facility lockdowns and visitor restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, residents experienced social deprivation that may have resulted in significant and adverse health outcomes. As with so many other critical issues in RLTC, the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the need to determine how families can remain most effectively involved in the lives of residents. This article seeks to better understand the state of the science of family involvement in RTLC and how the COVID-19 pandemic has expedited the need to revisit, and reimagine, family involvement in RLTC.

"Opening Our Time Capsule"-Creating an Individualized Music and Other Memory Cues Database to Promote Communication Between Spouses and People With Dementia During Visits to a Nursing Home

Background: Family members play a critical role in caring for people with dementia, and their involvement in care continues even after their loved ones are placed in long-term care facilities. The dynamics of family involvement following institutionalization are complex and challenging. The strain on caregivers does not cease and communication difficulties are a major barrier due to deteriorating language abilities as a result of dementia. Also, caregivers' involvement has implications on the quality of life of both the older adult and his family members. Objective: To help alleviate caregivers' burden during visiting hours, by promoting communication opportunities. The program included the creation of an individualized database using personal music and photos that present life episodes. Methods: A qualitative research was used to explore spouses' experience during visits and the process of creating and using the individualized database. Participants included three women who regularly visited their partners who had dementia and resided in a nursing home. The first phase included creating an individualized database for each couple. In the second phase, four meetings were conducted, each woman with her partner, utilizing the database on a tablet. A case study research design was used and various types of data were collected and analyzed. The data included interview reports (pre-post intervention), preparation meetings reports, spouses' recorded reactions at the end of each of the four visits, and the music therapist's written log during the program. Results: All documented data revealed the difficulties, mostly the communication barrier, encountered by the three women during their visits to the nursing home. All reported that using the individualized database helped them to find ways to communicate with their partners, relive shared past experiences, and alleviate the stress and feelings of disconnection during visits. Conclusions: Forming a bridge between past and present via individualized music and photos databases can be helpful in bridging the gap between people with dementia in nursing homes and their family members.

Causes of inadequate intake of nutrients during the treatment of children with chemotherapy

PURPOSE

The purpose of the research was to explore nurses' perceptions of different causes of inadequate food intake in children treated with chemotherapy and to determine how often nurses identify these causes.

METHOD

Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. Qualitative data were first gathered using semistructured interviews in a sample of six nurses and analysed by conventional content analysis. Based on the results of qualitative data and literature analysis, a 28-item questionnaire was developed and evaluated for its face validity in a sample of fifteen nurses. Questionnaires were then administered to twenty-seven nurses working at one pediatric oncology ward. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistic.

RESULTS

The major themes that emerge from the content analysis, describing nurses' perceptions of causes of inadequate food intake in children undergoing chemotherapy, were as follows: physiological causes of eating problems, psychological causes of eating problems, change in food selection, hospital food and individual counselling. 13 causes of inadequate food intake were identified from the questionnaire data. Pain due to mucositis was the most commonly identified cause of inadequate food intake in children, followed by nausea and vomiting, altered taste, loss of appetite and an altered smell. Psychological causes of eating problems are rarely identified.

CONCLUSION

Nurses identify most of the physiological and psychological causes of inadequate food intake in children treated with chemotherapy. The early identification and management by nurses of inadequate food intakes should be part of the curriculum for nurse education as well as part of treatment planning in clinical environment.