La participation à l'aide et aux soins des conjoints et des enfants auprès de personnes âgées nouvellement hébergées en centre d'hébergement et de soins de longue durée

Abstract

This study investigates the participation of family caregivers when an elderly relative is going to a nursing home. Twenty-two primary caregivers, whose relative, aged 60 years or older, had recently been admitted to a public nursing home, were interviewed. The content analysis reveals that caregivers worry about and do what is needed to ensure the physical, psychological, and social well-being of their elderly relative and take care of her/his belongings. Doing things for her/him gradually gives way to managing things. Caregivers carry out the duty of protecting their family members, stimulating them, and keeping a close watch on the work of the staff of the institution.

Identity cues and dementia in nursing home intervention

“…In addition to facilitating the care of, and contact with, seniors living with dementia, the use of identity cues makes it possible to get to know seniors, motivate them, and acknowledge them as individuals, which is consistent with the philosophy of the person-centered care approach and supports the premise of authors who maintain that identity persists beyond dementia [2]. By sharing information about seniors' identity with healthcare personnel and by talking about their relatives before the onset of illness, family caregivers are able to reclaim part of the senior's identity, a moral heritage, and begin a much-needed grieving process [12]. In conclusion, a better understanding of the use of identity cues will make it possible to develop more personalized interventions that contribute to a higher quality of life and the increased interaction of seniors living with dementia in residential settings.…”

“…The complementary value of two types of expertise or know-how (i.e. the healthcare personnel's professional expertise and the biographical knowledge of family caregivers who have a greater understanding of the seniors' multi-faceted identity must be recognized and put to better use [11,12,36]. The relations between looking after and caring for their kin in long tem care raise many challenges for the family caregiver.…”

“…Although many nursing homes adopt this approach with a particular emphasis on communication, expression of choice, active listening, and maintaining residents' identity, only a few present a clear practical frameworks and guidelines to attain these objectives [6], as suggested by the Bradford Dementia Group [7][8][9]. Moreover, the scientific literature of recent years offers little insight into the real contribution of family caregivers and healthcare personnel in helping seniors living in nursing homes to maintain their identity and exercise their social roles, and a number of commentators point out the need for further research in this area [10][11][12]. Authors stress the importance of gaining a better understanding of the strategies used by the stakeholders, including family caregivers and healthcare personnel [13][14][15], to help seniors as much as possible to remember and use their skills, to help them live by their values and life experiences on a daily basis in institutional settings [7,[16][17][18].…”

Le maintien du pouvoir chez la personne âgée hébergée souffrant de déficits cognitifs

“…; pour les proches aidants, le prendre soin réfère à des buts à atteindre tels que : d'assurer sa sécurité, de voir à son confort, de faire en sorte que son parent soit heureux. Pour les soignants, les tâches sont une finalité et souvent le temps presse; pour les aidants, ces tâches sont des moyens pour atteindre un but (Vézina et Pelletier, 2004).…”

“…Ces émotions ne sont pas toujours prises en considération par le personnel soignant, faute de temps ou de stratégies pour y faire face. Elles peuvent s' accompagner d'un sentiment d'impuissance et d'incompréhension de part et d'autre (Vézina et Pelletier, 2004). Lors de l'hébergement d'une personne âgée souffrant de déficits cognitifs, les proches aidants sentent le besoin de protéger la personne âgée qui souvent ne parvient plus à s'exprimer clairement et ils désirent partager leurs connaissances des habitudes et des goûts de la personne âgée afin qu'elle obtienne des soins de qualité (Clarke, Jane Hanson, et Ross, 2003;Vézina et Pelletier, 2004).…”