2016 Volume 21 Issue 1 Pages 38-49
This study aimed to clarify the significance of life for the elderly with difficulty in walking independently, their purposes in life, and factors supporting their life-fulfillment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 long-term care health facility residents to extract their life stories, and create narrative records. The narrative records were qualitatively and functionally analyzed, and classified into 5 categories and 6 sub-categories: in addition to <satisfaction after efforts>, <past, present, and future interpersonal relationships>, and <life as a gift and an opportunity to learn its significance>, representing the spirituality of elderly community residents, <wishing to make my own decisions>, and <now is the best time of my life> were extracted. Listening to the elderly living in long-term care health facilities, focusing on the significance and purpose of life, as well as factors contributing to life-fulfillment, may enable them to develop self-insight, and improve the quality of nursing, and it may be necessary to provide care from such a perspective.
