The lived experience of being at home. A phenomenological investigation.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the essential structure of the lived experience of feeling at home for older adults relocated to alternative care settings which provide some degree of supervision.


METHODS
A purposive sample of 10 relocated older adults in three settings (i.e., one life care and two long-term care facilities) was studied using a qualitative design. Data were gathered through interviews and analyzed using Giorgi's (1985) method of phenomenology.


RESULTS
Fourteen themes existing in a dialectic of "at home" versus "not at home" emerged and were integrated into the essential structure of the phenomenon of home. Elders who felt at home had strong feelings of satisfaction with their lives, security, autonomy, and purpose. Those older adults who did not feel at home were anxious, angry, and depressed, and were consumed by a desire to be elsewhere.


CONCLUSIONS
Some individuals have great difficulty establishing a sense of home in alternative settings. Methods of assessing older adults and designing interventions that contribute to establishing a sense of home could prove valuable in enhancing the quality of life for those who must spend their remaining years in settings other than their traditional homes.
Hammer
R M
RM
Department of Nursing, Quinnipiac College, Hamden, Connecticut, USA.
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005610:Freedom; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D016852:Housing for the Elderly; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012866:Skilled Nursing Facilities; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires