Corroborating indicates nurses’ ethical values in a geriatric ward

The aim of the study was to identify nurses’ ethical values, which become apparent through their behaviour in the interactions with older patients in caring encounters at a geriatric clinic

Understanding the Meaning of Doubt, Despair, and Belief in Caring Sciences

Healthcare professionals encounter patients' and relatives' expressions of doubt, despair, and hope in relation to illness and suffering. These feelings and experiences are often challenging for patients, relatives, and carers to face. The article's purpose is to describe and discuss how the meaning of doubt, despair, dread, and belief can be understood through Kierkegaard's and Spinoza's philosophical thoughts, thus contributing to a deeper understanding of caring and knowledge in caring science. Dread, doubt, and despair have their roots in grief and powerlessness but are also connected to belief and faith, which create an inner strength that can alleviate suffering. © Copyright 2021 International Association for Human Caring

A qualitative study of family members’ perspectives regarding decision-making for nursing home residents’ care

Reporting method: This study adheres to EQUATOR guidelines for qualitative research using the SRQR Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (O’Brien et al., Citation 2014).Supplementary material: Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2370545 .Purpose: We explored how family caregivers perceive decision-making regarding the care of nursing home residents. Methods: This qualitative study used Flemming’s Gadamerian-based research method. In person semi-structured interviews about decision-making concerning residents’ care were conducted with 13 family members (nine women, four men) of residents of three Norwegian nursing homes. Findings: The following themes emerged: Excessive focus on autonomy threatens resident wellbeing and safety. Resident wellbeing is the caregiver’s responsibility. Resident wellbeing serves as a guiding principle. Conclusions: The family members of residents and the nursing home caregivers disagreed about the significance of upholding resident autonomy to respect residents’ dignity. The family members held that not all instances where residents refused care reflect autonomy situations as care refusal often does not reflect the resident's true values and standards but rather, stems from barriers that render necessary care actions difficult. In situations where residents refuse essential care or when the refusal does not align with the residents second-order values, the family members suggested that caregivers strive to understand the causes of refusal and seek non-coercive ways to navigate it. Hence, the family members seemed to endorse the use of soft paternalism in nursing homes to safeguard residents’ wellbeing and dignity.This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors

Challenges of patient-focused care: Nurses’ descriptions and observations before and after intervention

The concept of patient-focused care aims to provide an environment in which the healthcare team focuses on the individual patient’s needs. In order to increase our understanding of how nurses perceive and conduct patient-focused care, the issue needs to be studied in various contexts. The aims of the study were to explore nurses’ descriptions of their patient-focused care, what took place during observed situations including the time spent, before and after the change of design from a more traditional to a single-bed hospital in Sweden. Non-participant observations with follow-up interviews were carried out. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Three categories emerged from the analysis: Barriers to being close to the patient, Desire to be close to the patient and The influence of environment on caring. The theme Presence or absence was interpreted as the latent meaning. The conclusion was that being present is crucial in nursing when providing compassionate and effective nursing care