Dignity and well-being are central values in the legislation on care of older people living in residential care facilities (RCFs) in Sweden. In addition, care of older people living in RCFs should be person-centred. Dignity and well-being can according to the person-centred practice framework be interpreted as person-centred outcomes. Despite this older people living in RCFs have described that they not fully experience dignity and well-being and improvements are needed. To improve care it is essential to know what to target. The aim of this study was therefore to describe residents’ perceptions and experiences of what is needed to live with dignity and a sense of well-being. A descriptive design with a qualitative approach was used. Open-ended interviews were carried out with 20 older people living at RCFs. Inductive content analysis was used to analyse data and one overarching theme and three categories emerged. The categories revealed the importance of, and that staff and the care environment supported, to manage daily life by oneself, to be shown respect and to belong to a social context. The overarching theme revealed the importance of having a feeling to still matter. For older people to experience the person-centred outcomes dignity and well-being managers at RCFs need to develop and support the staff prerequisites related to knowledge, skills and attitudes and to improve the care environment. According to the person-centred practice framework, the staff prerequisites and the care environment must be taken into account to achieve the person-centred outcomes dignity and well-being.
This study relates to global sustainability regarding development goal number three – Good health and well-being – implying to promote well-being for all in all ages. This study has a focus on older people and their experiences of what is needed to promote their well-being at RCFs. The results revealed, among other things, that it was important to manage daily life by oneself and this was related to health issues. This implies that this study also deals with health. The results from the study can be used to design improvements to promote older peoples´ health and well-being at RCFs, and in that way sustainability goal number three might be reached.