Promoting sense of security in old-age care

Dan Lundgren,Martina Boström,Anita Björklund,Marie Ernsth Bravell

doi:10.4236/health.2013.56a2009

Abstract

Purpose: The concept of security is related to the experience of health but has ever so often been argued from a risk perspective rather than from a promotional perspective. The experience of older persons’ sense of security in private homes and in nursing homes seems to be missing when it comes to promote aging well throughout the life span. This study aimed to describe and analyze factors related to the sense of security of older persons receiving care in nursing homes in Sweden. Design and Methods: The study was based on a questionnaire from a total of 495 persons aged ≥ 65 in private homes (n = 350) or nursing homes (n = 145) in Sweden. Results: Secure relationships, sense of control, and perceived health were significantly related to the subjects’ sense of security. No significant relationships were found between sense of security and having a personal emergency response alarm. Implications: Experience of sense of security from the older person perspective differs depending on the context. To promote the sense of security within the care of older persons, methods on how to establish secure relations as well as the sense of control and knowledge need to be further tested, developed and analyzed together with older persons.

Highlights

An increased interest in the concept of security has risen over the past decade since the sense of security has been identified as being related to healthy aging, quality of life in later years, and aging well [1,2,3,4,5]
Our data demonstrate that the sense of security in older persons living in private homes (PH) and nursing homes (NH) was relatively high
Older persons living in NH seemed to experience increased security in their everyday life compared with older persons living in PH (t = 2.676, p = 0.008)

Summary

Introduction

An increased interest in the concept of security has risen over the past decade since the sense of security has been identified as being related to healthy aging, quality of life in later years, and aging well [1,2,3,4,5]. In many countries around the world such as in Sweden, policy documents encompass strategies offering the elderly the possibility to “age in place” and “to grow old in security while maintaining their independence” [6]. Research has indicated that municipalities are not able to offer sufficient safety and security to older persons who want to age in place [8], indicating that promoting a sense of security and independence is still a public policy challenge in Sweden and other developed countries for supporting older persons aging in place [9]. Despite the importance of health care staff’s understanding of the safety implications for persons with certain diseases and symptoms to promote security [10], research has often described feelings related to insecurity rather than security. We believe that promoting a sense of security could broaden the understanding of what promotes security for older persons rather than deepen the knowledge of what factors hinder insecurity

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Discussion

Conclusion