Abstract
Aim : The aim of this study was to elucidate the needs of senior citizens convalescing at home, and their families, with regards to visiting nurses as well as defining the roles of those nurses by analyzing how they collaborated with other health care professionals according to those needs. Subjects : The subjects of the study were ten visiting nurses, selected from four visiting nursing stations, who had been employed in their profession for three or more years and were involved in active collaboration with other health care professionals. Method : The study was performed through semi-structured interviews with visiting nurses, clients and their families, and when allowed, subjective observation through visiting the clients with the visiting nurses. The data collected, was qualitatively analyzed and summarized to give the following results: The needs of clients convalescing at home and their families were classified as : "need of the clients", "need of their families" "need of the clients and their families". The characteristics of the collaborative needs were overt needs, "adjusting the relationship between other health care professionals and the families" and potential needs, "preventing incidental difficulties in the clients' life" and "managing the course of the clients' convalescence." There were 14 kinds of collaborative patterns of activity associated with the needs of the clients and their families. The role of visiting nurses in collaborative activities was suggested to be as follows : "assessing the clients' condition and symptoms during the collaboration and indicating the appropriate health care professionals" ; "observing the management, indication and efficacy of medication" ; "coordinating suitable health care professionals based on an assessment of the clients mental state" ; "the importance of collaborating with the families" ; "guiding home helpers with regards to the health care management of the clients"; "preventive guidance and prevention" and "constructing a collaborative relationship with other health care professionals".
