The care of older people and the underpinning values of care of older people in a recent government report on dignity in care. Care of older people should be based on six aspects of dignity which is the foundation for a dignified life. These are: integrity, such as privacy and bodily integrity; Self-determination; involvement in decisions about their care; individualized care; good health and social care; and a good interaction to the older person and their families.
Despite a strong policy agenda on individually adapted care and values, social care research has usually not been undertaken from the perspective of the older care-receiver themselves. Even less is known about preferences of older care receivers with dementia, despite that they compose approximately 34 percent of older care receivers who have support from home help.
Such pronouncements raise a question regarding the extent to which proposed ‘core values’ of social care are based on the actual values of the users, that is, the older care receivers.
The study will be undertaken by means of a qualitative cross-sectional study, with semi-structured interviews.
The population will include two groups: older care receivers (65 years or older) with or without dementia. The sample size is estimated to approximately 20-30 participants in each group.
The interviews will be analyzed with content analysis.
This study will provide an increased understanding of older care receivers’ preferences and create conditions for a more individualized and person-centered care. This study will also contribute to strengthening the evidence-based practice in social care.
2015.
EDCNS - The European Doctoral Conference in Nursing Science, Graz, Austria, 1-19 September 2015