Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to clarify the information about care recipients that visiting nurses focus on to facilitate the continuation of home care for older adults who live alone and require long-term care.
Method: Eight visiting nurses were interviewed and the data were qualitatively analyzed.
Results: 1） All the nurses were women. Their ages ranged from the late 20s to early 40s and all had at least 5 years of experience as a nurse. Experience as a visiting nurse was less than 1 year in two nurses, 1-5 years in two nurses, more than 5-10 years in two nurses, and more than 10 years in two nurses. 2） Analysis revealed 25 subcategories in the following nine categories: changes in usual physical condition; appearance of psychological symptoms; changes in decline of cognitive function; link to medical treatment; risk of falls; potential measures to take if a sudden change in condition occurs; sleeping environment; accepting attitude regarding the service; and availability of informal support. Nurses not only focus on the care recipient’s physical condition, but also on whether he/she can manage sudden changes in health condition or the surrounding environment by him/herself. Nurses also focus on the care recipient’s sociability in considering his/her formal and informal support, suggesting that they place emphasis on information for preventive care.
