The Visiting Nurses' Identification of Core Information in Regards to Homebound Seniors' Preferences on Their End-of-Life Care

Abstract

Purpose: Japan will enter super-aged society shortly. It is imperative for health care providers to respect the homebound seniors' decisions on their end-of-life care. The purpose of this study was to identify core information that helped the visiting nurses understand Japanese homebound seniors' end-of-life care preferences.
Method: Questionnaires were mailed to 756 visiting nurses (with 107 valid responses received). The questionnaire asked questions about 57 items regarding the seniors' terminal care decision. These items were extracted from the Values History and interview for five visiting nurses. The researcher conducted the exploratory factor analysis and built a high order model based on the results from the analysis. The fit indexes were identified using the analysis of covariance. Lastly, the core information was identified.
Results: A total of three factors and 11 items were rendered as a result of the exploratory factor analysis. The researcher created a high order model where "understanding will" was the secondary factor, and three factors extracted as abovementioned were the primary factors. The fit indexes were high (i.e., GFI＝0.909, AGFI＝0.835, CFI＝0.947, RMSEA＝0.057).
Conclusion: Three factors ("End of life without regret", "Peaceful life" and "Clue of how to live") were identified as core information for understanding the seniors' will.