2018 Volume 23 Issue 1 Pages 94-102
This study aims to elucidate components of care that elicit positive responses from elderly individuals in a persistent vegetative state and the process of changes that nurses undergo as they accumulate experience. This study comprised a qualitative inductive analysis of participant observations and semi-structured interviews. We enrolled 8 nurses with 9 or more years of professional experience and 3 or more years of experience in caring for patients in a persistent vegetative state. The results identified ‘initiating triggers and waiting for a response,’ ‘deciphering and predicting based on subtle reactions,’ ‘interpreting intentions and emotions and speaking for the patients,’ ‘sharing new responses with family and other staff members to involve them in communication with the patients,’ and ‘maintaining the family members’ interest’ as the components of care that elicit positive responses from elderly individuals in a persistent vegetative state. Nurses experienced a phase of ‘working mechanically out of duty as a nurse,’ but came to ‘reflect and reconsider when they experienced a sense of self-disgust’ and began to ‘incorporate hints obtained through nursing and personal life experiences into interactions with patients.’ These were then followed by gaining “faith in the patient’s strengths through each moment” as they ‘witnessed the patient or the family’s strengths.’ Therefore, the process of change that nurses undergo was demonstrated through these interactions that provided the ‘small sense of fulfillment that they relied on.’
