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 Nov 28;10(12):2384.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare10122384.

Do You Feel Safe at Home? A Qualitative Study among Home-Dwelling Older Adults with Advanced Incurable Cancer

Ellen Karine Grov  1 , Siri Ytrehus  2
Affiliations

Do You Feel Safe at Home? A Qualitative Study among Home-Dwelling Older Adults with Advanced Incurable Cancer

Ellen Karine Grov et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Many older adults with cancer prefer to live at home, and home treatment and outpatient care have been recommended for such patients. To improve their mental health, it is important to identify the challenges that are faced by home-dwelling older adults with cancer. This study aimed to examine the impact of the home on older adults with advanced cancer who were receiving treatment and follow-up care. In a cross-sectional design with criterion-based sampling, eight qualitative interviews were transcribed and interpreted thematically. We identified three themes of home-safety management: good home-safety management, uncertain home-safety management, and home-safety management collapse. Moreover, we revealed eight sub-themes important to the participants' home-safety experience. Ensuring that older adults feel safe at home will afford them the opportunity to enjoy living at home, which in turn may alleviate their symptom burden and enhance their mental health.

Keywords: cancer care; feeling safe; home-dwelling; mental health; older adults.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors confirm that they have no individual, company, or organization-based interests which involve financial or personal gain.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. WHO Definition on Mental Health. [(accessed on 12 October 2022)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/westernpacific/health-topics/mental-health#tab=tab_1.
    1. Heikkinen R.-L., Kauppinen M. Mental well-being: A 16-year follow-up among older residents in Jyväskylä. Arch. Gerontol. Geriatr. 2011;52:33–39. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2010.01.017. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aspell N., O’Sullivan M., O’Shea E., Irving K., Duffy C., Gorman R., Warters A. Predicting admission to long-term care and mortality among community-based, dependent older people in Ireland. Int. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry. 2019;34:999–1007. doi: 10.1002/gps.5101. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gitlin L.N. Conducting research on home environments: Lessons learned and new directions. Gerontologist. 2003;43:628–637. doi: 10.1093/geront/43.5.628. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Peckham A., Rudoler D., Li J.M., D’souza S. Community-based reform efforts: The case of the aging at home strategy. Healthc. Policy. 2018;14:30. doi: 10.12927/hcpol.2018.25550. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources