Person‐centredness in elder care: A secondary analysis of data from a study among home‐dwelling men and women in the Faroe Islands

Abstract

Healthcare providers must take the user's preferences, resources and networks into consideration when coordinating and planning home care and, importantly, be open for negotiating needs. It is important to draw attention to the contrast between political intentions regarding elder care and the limited options for putting the intentions into practice.

A client-centered approach in home care for older persons – an integrative review

“…A lack of participation in decisions is in contradiction with the clients’ psychological need to have an influence over decisions affecting their own lives [ 27 , 28 , 33 , 35 , 43 ]. Client involvement with care management helps older persons obtain decisions that are meaningful for them and which make the persons’ life worth living [ 28 , 34 , 36 , 43 ]. It also increases dignity and autonomy of the older person [ 33 , 39 ].…”

“…Thus, it is important to recognize their knowledge base of care, lifestyle and the communication pattern in the family. In client-centered care, collaboration, the therapeutic relationship, and team spirit, flexibility and negotiation need to be realized between client, family members, professionals and home care service providers [ 29 , 32 , 36 , 40 , 43 , 45 ].…”

“…In home care, motivation and commitment to one's own care strengthens the individual performance and resources of the older person [29][30][31][32][33]. Participation in care management increases the sense of involvement and wellbeing [29,[34][35][36][37]. Motivation is influenced by personality [38], cultural background [39], cognitive abilities, age and resources to participate, marital status and positive guidance [35].…”

“…Active involvement in the setting of goals is evidently one of the essential steps towards empowering older people [24,29,30,35,37,38]. Participation in medication, care planning and scheduling, and goal setting increases the client's sense of involvement [30][31][32][35][36][37]. Involvement increases the clients' satisfaction with care.…”

“…It is important that the older persons' home and living environment enable them to live actively, and maintain social relationships and interactions, and that they are comfortable with their living environment [28,29,35,37,44]. Feeling safe, and living an inclusive and meaningful life is important at home, as this prevents the feeling of illness and, as a consequence, reduces unnecessary use of health services [32,[35][36][37]45]. Social relationships and consideration of cultural and ethnic perspectives in care and service make the home care client's everyday life meaningful.…”