Abstract
This study aimed to elucidate nurses' interpretation of the feelings toward outings among patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on home mechanical ventilation (ALS/HMV patients), as well as the support provided by nurses enabling these patients to go out. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 nurses who had helped ALS/HMV patients make their first outing since starting HMV, and results were analyzed inductively. As interpreted by the nurses, there were 9 categories of feelings toward outings among ALS/HMV patients who had no prior experience of outings, such as “desire to go out”, “concerns about postural maintenance and physical pain”, and “concerns about mechanical troubles”. There were 7 categories of support provided by nurses to enable ALS/HMV patients to go out, such as “predicting and preparing for danger”, “persuading ALS/HMV patients to include outings in their lives”, and “finding the best timing for outings”. These results indicate that nurses grasped ALS/HMV patients' positive and negative feelings toward outings, and supported them to expand their lives by ensuring their safety, motivating them, alleviating their concerns, and enhancing their independence.
