“The supreme discipline of Nursing”–A qualitative content analysis of nurses' opinions on caring for people eighty years of age and older

Abstract

IntroductionNurses often experience stress and feel under time pressure when working with older people, increasing their job dissatisfaction. Especially people 80 years of age and older often require more complex and a greater measure of care, as the risk of care dependency is higher in this age group. This study was conducted to collect nurses’ experiences and opinions regarding the care of people 80 years of age and older, as well as to learn more about how nurses perceive this care. MethodWe analysed narratives collected in an Austrian nationwide, cross-sectional online study to investigate nurses’ attitudes towards people 80 years of age and older and their perceptions regarding their care (N = 1197). Data were collected from May–October 2021 by using a convenience sampling method. In total, 149 participants filled in the free text field; these texts were analysed using a qualitative content analysis method. ResultsThree main themes emerged from the analysis of the nurses' narratives: (1) ‘opinions on people in need of care’, (2) ‘reputation of nursing profession’, and (3) ‘criticism of current nursing practice’. Most narratives were assigned to the subthemes ‘positive opinions on nursing’, ‘ideal image of nursing’, and ‘shortage of staff’. ConclusionNurses considered their work with people aged 80 years and older to be meaningful and important, but they criticised working conditions which need to be improved. This could be achieved by offering further education and increasing nursing staff. Further research is needed to investigate nurses’ needs and wishes regarding the care of people aged 80 years and older.