“I feel I am a human being again” Care and Case Management supporting the self-reliance of older people with multimorbidity living alone: Findings of an interpretive-hermeneutical analysis / „Ich bin wieder ein Mensch geworden” Care und Case Management als Unterstützung der Eigenständigkeit allein lebender, mehrfacherkrankter, älterer Menschen: Ergebnisse einer interpretativ-hermeneutischen Analyse

Abstract

Objective This interpretive-hermeneutical study examined how the possibilities offered by Care and Case Management (CCM) were perceived by older people with multimorbidity living alone with regard to their remaining self-reliant and independent. Method Guided interviews were conducted with 20 CCM users (60% women, age range between 64 and 89 years). The sampling and evaluation processes were based on the Grounded Theory method. Results Before CCM was initiated, the interviewed persons had been confronted with a multitude of offers and services for care provided by various organizations, which had made it difficult for them to get an overall view. Through CCM they felt strengthened in their everyday life because each individual life situation became the focal point of the care they needed and because they gained access to appropriate assistance, which would not have been possible without CCM. Conclusions CCM offers older people content-related and organizational support in various areas of life, thus enabling them to have a self-determined way of life in their own homes.