Lived experiences of elderly home residents: a qualitative study

Background: Increasing elderly population has been lead to increased number of hospices and their customers. However, the lived experiences of elderly home residents have been less noticed. This study aimed to investigate the lived experiences of elderly residents of Kashan's Golabchi elderly hospice.

Methods: In this qualitative study based on phenomenological approach data collected using purposive sampling and deep open interview, narrative collection method until data saturation was obtained. Data were analyzed using Van Manen’s six step method.

Results: Fifteen elderly with age range 65-73 years and average length of stay of 2.5 years participated in the study. Five items were extracted from data, including of "rejection and isolation", "feel failure and disgrace", "adaptation", "satisfaction" and "being monotonous and waiting". Most of the participants felt that were rejected by their families and the community. Their life was tedious and this had reduced their life passion and they were waiting for the end of life.

Conclusion: Most of the elderly had not positive experiences of living in the hospice. Inattention of the family and the condition of the hospice environment made them a feel of “isolation and being rejected” along with a “feel of failure and disgrace”. Improving the validity of elderly home residents, may be achieved by improving communication culture of this population, elderly hospices condition and appropriate training of geriatric nurses.