| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|---|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Correspondence: Address correspondence to Jeanie Kayser-Jones, RN, PhD, FAAN, Department of Physiological Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, 2 Kirkham Street, Room N631, San Francisco, CA 94143-0610. E-mail: jeanie.kayser-jones{at}nursing.ucsf.edu
Purpose:This study investigated the physical environment and organizational factors that influenced the process of providing care to terminally ill nursing home residents.Design and Methods:Participant observation, interviews, and event analysis were used to obtain data in two proprietary facilities.Results:The physical environment was not conducive to end-of-life care. The rooms were crowded, there was little privacy, and the facilities were noisy. Inadequate staffing and lack of supervision were among the most significant organizational factors that influenced care. Often, residents did not receive basic care, such as bathing, oral hygiene, adequate food and fluids, and repositioning. A consequence of inadequate staffing was the development of pressure ulcers; 54% of the residents had pressure ulcers; 82% of these residents died with pressure ulcers.Implications:Findings suggest that the nursing home environment in these two facilities, as now structured, is an inappropriate setting for end-of-life care.
Key Words: Death and dying • Nursing homes • Inadequate staffing • Environmental factors • Palliative care
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. Teeri, M. Valimaki, J. Katajisto, and H. Leino-Kilpi Maintenance of Patients' Integrity in Long-Term Institutional Care Nursing Ethics, July 1, 2008; 15(4): 523 - 535. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. Jenull and E. Brunner Death and Dying in Nursing Homes: A Burden for the Staff? Journal of Applied Gerontology, April 1, 2008; 27(2): 166 - 180. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. M. Heikkinen, G. J. Wickstrom, and H. Leino-Kilpi Privacy in occupational health practice: Promoting and impeding factors Scand J Public Health, March 1, 2007; 35(2): 116 - 124. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A Heikkinen, V Launis, P Wainwright, and H Leino-Kilpi Privacy and occupational health services. J. Med. Ethics, September 1, 2006; 32(9): 522 - 525. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Forbes-Thompson and C. E. Gessert Nursing Homes and Suffering: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution? Journal of Applied Gerontology, June 1, 2006; 25(3): 234 - 251. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. M. Wilson Commentary by Wilson West J Nurs Res, June 1, 2006; 28(4): 413 - 416. [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. Kolanowski and M. L. Piven Geropsychiatric Nursing: The State of the Science Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, April 1, 2006; 12(2): 75 - 99. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. S. Allen, L. D. Burgio, S. E. Fisher, J. Michael Hardin, and J. L. Shuster Jr., Behavioral Characteristics of Agitated Nursing Home Residents With Dementia at the End of Life Gerontologist, October 1, 2005; 45(5): 661 - 666. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Minerva BMJ, October 6, 2003; 327(7418): E243 - 243. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|---|
| All GSA journals | Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences | Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences |
