What good nurses in nursing homes look like: A qualitative study on the views of older adults in nursing homes

Background: A large number of older adults live in nursing homes (NHs) around the world. NH Nurses play a central role in care quality, yet surprisingly little is known about how older residents perceive nursing performance. Therefore, this study aimed to explore older NH residents’ views and expectations of nurses and identify what good nurses look like in NH settings.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 11 older residents from three NHs in Shanghai. The data were analysed using content analysis.

Results: We identified six main themes: ‘Focus on health habits and status when providing individualized care’, ‘Value psychological care and promote amicable and reciprocal relationships’, ‘Value pharmaceutical care and avoid preventable medication-related harm’, ‘Fulfill the needs of health monitoring (bowel movement, skin conditions and sleep quality)’, ‘Communicate well in health screening programs and create more communication channels’ and ‘Enhance care coordination based on clear professional responsibilities’.

Conclusions: Older residents perceived that, on the basis of the resident-centred principle, good nurses should provide high-quality psychological and pharmaceutical care and perform effective health monitoring. Adequate communication and effective collaboration between nurses and key stakeholders (physicians, nursing assistants, pharmacists and residents) are important preconditions for providing satisfactory care for residents. Notably, unclear role boundaries in pharmaceutical and basic care negatively affect care coordination. Health information technology might enable nurses to meet resident-perceived expectations.

Keywords: good nurses, nursing homes, older adults, qualitative study

Abbreviations: NHs = nursing homes