Meanings of at-homeness at end-of-life among older people.

Abstract

Maintaining the well-being of older people who are approaching the end-of-life has been recognised as a significant aspect of well-being in general. However, there are few studies that have explicitly focused on at-homeness among older people. This study aims to illuminate meanings of at-homeness among older people with advancing illnesses. Twenty men and women, aged 85 or older, with advancing illnesses and who lived in their own homes, in nursing homes or in short-term nursing homes in three urban areas of Sweden were strategically sampled in the study. Data were generated in narrative interviews, and the analysis was based on a phenomenological hermeneutical method. After obtaining a naïve understanding and conducting structural analyses, two aspects of the phenomenon were revealed: at-homeness as being oneself and at-homeness as being connected. At-homeness as being oneself meant being able to manage ordinary everyday life as well as being beneficial to one's life. At-homeness as being connected meant being close to significant others, being in affirming friendships and being in safe dependency. Here, at-homeness is seen as a twofold phenomenon, where being oneself and being connected are interrelated aspects. Being oneself and being connected are further interpreted by means of the concepts of agency and communion, which have been theorised as two main forces of the human being.