Exploring experiences of older Australians transitioning to a residential aged care facility in Western Australia

Abstract

Introduction: There is a lack of understanding of the perceptions and experiences of older adult residents within their first six months of arrival into an aged care facility. This first six months can bring challenges to older adults due to loss of control and autonomy. This study helps to understand the first six months of older adults living within an aged care context and outlines opportunities that focus on providing more support services and improving coping skills within this population. Methods: A qualitative descriptive study was used. Purposive sampling was used to recruit ten participants from an aged care facility in Western Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and then thematic analysis was performed. Results: A qualitative data analysis generated three themes: ‘acceptance of moving’, ‘maintaining participation in activities and social interaction’, and ‘challenges associated with adjustment.’ Discussion: The findings of this study highlights that a lack of control and autonomy among older adult residents in aged care remains a significant issue. Conclusion: There is a need to develop strategies to support older Australians with the necessary coping skills within their first six months of arrival into an aged care facility to minimize the challenges and subsequently improve their quality of life physically and mentally.

RAS ID

30353

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

1-1-2019

School

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

Copyright

free_to_read

Publisher

Gavin Publishers

Comments

Rashidi, A., Bambah, A., Bruke, M., & Moseti, D. (2019). Exploring experiences of older australians transitioning to a residential aged care facility in Western Australia. International Journal of Nursing and Health Care Research, 10 , Article 1121.

https://www.gavinpublishers.com/articles/research-article/International-Journal-of-Nursing-and-Health-Care-Research/exploring-experiences-of-older-australians-transitioning-to-a-residential-aged-care-facility-in-western-australia

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