2022 Volume 25 Issue 2 Pages 13-22
Objective: This study clarified how nurses at a community general support center provide care, in accordance with the progression of symptoms, to elderly people with dementia who live alone.
Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 nurses with more than five years of experience in a community general support center, and data were analyzed qualitatively and descriptively.
Results: We extracted six categories, 36 subcategories, and 109 codes. The categories were “assessing the current situation and predicting future progress,” “trying to be someone to be remembered in times of trouble,” “creating an environment where people can live safely in the community,” “connecting people to the support they need to continue living alone,” “providing a bridge to the next support team,” and “supporting people to live in their own way.”
Discussion: The nurses at the community general support center made efforts to build a trusting relationship with the elderly with dementia from an early stage by taking advantage of the fact that they could relate to them even before they were diagnosed with dementia, and provided timely and appropriate support according to their stage of progress from mutual aid to mutual assistance. They also placed importance on respecting the wishes of the elderly people they came to know through these relationships and the supporting of their unique way of life. Although the timing of interventions varies, our results highlighted the importance of setting the direction of support so that the uniqueness of each person’s personality remains unaffected, no matter when the relationship begins.
