Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Aug:30:56-63.
doi: 10.1016/j.jaging.2014.03.005. Epub 2014 Apr 23.

Relocation decisions and constructing the meaning of home: a phenomenological study of the transition into a nursing home

Rebecca A Johnson  1 , Jessica Bibbo  2
Affiliations

Relocation decisions and constructing the meaning of home: a phenomenological study of the transition into a nursing home

Rebecca A Johnson et al. J Aging Stud. 2014 Aug.

Abstract

The transition from community dwelling to a nursing home is a common, though idiosyncratic, experience in the United States. This study employed an interpretive phenomenological approach to uncover how eight older adults in nursing homes in the Midwestern U.S. constructed the meaning of home shortly following the relocation and again approximately two months later. The degree to which the individual had been involved in the decision making process was also explored as it related to the meaning of home within the nursing home setting. The majority of individuals did not consider the facility to be "home," but actively changed their attitudes toward the facility and themselves to better adjust to the setting. The findings demonstrate the importance of autonomy in older adults' definitions of home.

Keywords: Aging; Decision making; Home; Meaning; Nursing home; Nursing home placement.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Balfour JL, Kaplan GA. Neighborhood environment and loss of physical function in older adults: Evidence from the Alameda County Study. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2002;155:507–515. - PubMed
    1. Bekhet AK, Zauszniewski JA, Wykle ML. Milieu change and relocation adjustment in elders. Western Journal of Nursing Research. 2008;30:113–129. - PubMed
    1. Benner P. The tradition and skill of interpretive phenomenology in studying health, illness, and caring practices. In: Benner P, editor. Interpretive phenomenology: embodiment, caring, and ethics in health and illness. SAGE Publications; Thousand Oaks, CA: 1994.
    1. Carel H. Phenomenology as a resource for patients. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. 2012;37:96–113. - PubMed
    1. Cooney A. ‘Finding home’: A grounded theory on hw older people ‘find home’ in long-term care settings. International Journal of Older People Nursing. 2011;7:188–199. - PubMed

Publication types