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
. 2022 Feb 5;19(3):1816.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031816.

Lived Experiences of Newly Admitted to Long-Term Care Facilities among Older Adults with Disabilities in Taiwan

Nai-Hui Chien  1 , Chin-Hsing Tsai  1   2 , Hung-Ru Lin  2
Affiliations

Lived Experiences of Newly Admitted to Long-Term Care Facilities among Older Adults with Disabilities in Taiwan

Nai-Hui Chien et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of Taiwanese older adults with disabilities newly admitted to long-term care facilities (LTCFs). A descriptive phenomenological method was used. Colaizzi's method analysis of 15 participant interviews revealed six themes: "living here is a last resort", "I don't like it but still have to live here", "my needs are not understood", "looking forward to emotional support", "practicing the way of survival", and "trying to make myself better". The older adults were admitted to the LTCF as they or their family members could not take care of themselves due to their disability. Participants explained their new life in the LTCF was like a prison, it was not easy for their needs to be understood. They used self-adjustment and established relationships with staff in the LTCF in order to live a stable life. They lived their lives with silence and alertness to practice the way of survival. They strived to make themselves better through rehabilitation, taking good care of their bodies, and finding their focus and value of life. It is important to pay attention to the care needs as well as life adjustment problems for newly older adults with disabilities in order to assist them in opening up new life experiences in LTCFs.

Keywords: descriptive phenomenology; lived experiences; newly admitted to long-term care facilities; older adults with disabilities; qualitative.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Steps of Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological data analysis method.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Ministry of the Interior Department of Statistics Future Population Estimation. Internal Affairs Statistics Inquiry Network. [(accessed on 8 November 2021)];2021 Available online: https://statis.moi.gov.tw/micst/stmain.jsp?sys=100.
    1. Ministry of Health and Welfare Survey Report on the Situation of the Elderly in the Republic of China 2018. [(accessed on 8 November 2021)];2021 Available online: https://dep.mohw.gov.tw/DOS/lp-5095-113.html.
    1. Koppitz A.L., Dreizler J., Imhof L., Altherr J., Bosshard G., Naef R. Relocation experiences with unplanned admission to a nursing home: A qualitative study. Int. Psychogeriatr. 2017;29:517–527. doi: 10.1017/S1041610216001964. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lin Y.P., Chang H.Y. Application of transitional theory to explore the related factors of life adaptation in elderly who relocated to long-term care institutions. Macau J. Nurs. 2018;16:14–19. doi: 10.6729/mjn.201712_16(1-2).003. - DOI
    1. Wu C.S., Rong J.R. Relocation experiences of the elderly to a long-term care facility in Taiwan: A qualitative study. BMC Geriatr. 2020;20:280. doi: 10.1186/s12877-020-01679-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed