A Nursing Literature Review on Enhancing the Will in Daily Life of Elderly People who Have Difficulty Communicating

Abstract

Review nursing literature on enhancing the will in daily life of elderly people who have difficulty communicating and clarified the clues and methods for nurses to enhance the wills of the elderly, the content of their wills, and the underlying view of nursing. After narrowing down the search criteria based on a keyword search, 16 papers were selected, including 15 domestic and 1 foreign paper. Both domestic and foreign papers have been common since 2000, and when classified by study design, there were six case studies（37.5%），five descriptive qualitative studies（31.25%），and five quasi-experimental studies（31.25%）．

Using Berelson’s method of content analysis as a reference, we analyzed from the following four viewpoints. As a result, in“1. What nurses use as clues to understand the intentions of the elderly”，five categories were generated：［facial movements］，［body movements］，［biological/life reactions］，［changes in reactions and conditions］，［lifestyles and personal information］．In“2. Methods for understanding the intentions of the elderly”，eight categories were generated：［observation by sharing time］，［intentional verbal and non-verbal communication］，［physical stimulation］，［presentation and support of choices］，［collaboration in a team including family members］，［inference of intention］，［confirmation of intention］，and［exploring intentions and care methods］．In“3. Contents of intentions of the elderly as understood by nurses”，four categories were generated：［emotions］，［needs］，［physical condition］，and［recognition/interest in others and situations］．In“4. Basic Nursing perspective,”three categories were generated：［a desire to respect the elderly］，［enhancing nurses’own abilities］，and［the joy of nursing care］．