Suffering and mental health among older people living in nursing homes—a mixed-methods study
Original version
Drageset, J. et al. (2015) Su ff ering and mental health among older people living in nursing homes—a mixed-methods study. PeerJ, 2015:1120 10.7717/peerj.1120Abstract
Background. Knowledge about mixed-methods perspectives that examine anxiety,
depression, social support, mental health and the phenomenon of suffering among
cognitively intact NH residents is scarce.We aimed to explore suffering and mental
health among cognitively intactNHresidents.
Methods. This study used a mixed-methods design to explore different aspects
of the same phenomena of interest to gain a more comprehensive understanding.
The qualitative core component comprised a qualitative interview from 18 nursing
home residents (≥65 years) about experiences related to pain, grief and loss. The
supplementary component comprised interview from the same respondents using
the SF-36Health Survey subscales, theHospital Anxiety andDepression Scale and the
Social Provisions Scale.
Results. The individual descriptions reveal suffering caused by painful experiences
during life. The quantitative results indicated that symptoms of anxiety and
depression were related to mental health and symptoms of anxiety were related to
bodily pain and emotional role limitations. Attachment and social integration were
associated with vitality and social functioning.
Discussion. To improve the situation, more attention should be paid to the residents’
suffering related to anxiety, depression and psychosocial relations.
Description
This article was originally published in the journal PeerJ and distributed under a creative commons CC BY 4.0 license.