Ãsa Róin
University of the Faroe Islands, Faroe Islands
Title: Person-centeredness in elder care: a secondary analysis of data from a study among home-dwelling men and women in the Faroe Islands
Biography
Biography: Ãsa Róin
Abstract
Aim & Objectives: As individuals in Western society’s age, there is increasing demand for home-based care to help older people stay in their homes for as long as possible. A person-centred approach to care has been recommended in the literature. However, person-centredness as a concept is an often quoted, but ill-defined concept. This qualitative study investigates how older people’s experiences with home-care reflect a person-centred approach to care. Data derive from an earlier study on ageing among home-dwelling men and women who are aged 67 to 91 and living in the Faroe Islands.
Methods: The study is a secondary analysis of data from an earlier qualitative study. Latent thematic analysis was used which meant coding issues of potential interest and collecting these codes into themes.
Results: Three themes appeared to combine the initial codes: sense of involvement, sense of meaningfulness and contextual conditions. Overall, the analysis showed that the users were seldom involved in planning or scheduling the care they received. What they were offered did not always make sense to them or correspond to their needs or preferences.
Conclusion: Findings from this study point at some possible barriers to successful implementation of person-centredness within elder care. Especially contextual conditions seem to limit the facilitation of person-centred practices.