title: Palliative care needs of chronically ill nursing home residents in Germany: focusing on living, not dying.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the palliative care needs of nursing home residents in Germany who had not yet entered the dying phase.
  
  
  METHODS
  Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of nine residents suffering from chronic disease or frailty. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed using a grounded theory approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The residents described multidimensional needs, which were categorized as 'being recognized as a person', 'having a choice and being in control', 'being connected to family and the world outside', 'being spiritually connected', and 'physical comfort'. They emphasized their desire to control everyday matters. Physical impairment was a problem, especially when independence was threatened, e.g. by immobility or a reliance on pain killers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The desire for self-determination is key when designing and evaluating primary and palliative care programmes for nursing homes. Early integration of palliative care can improve the quality of life of chronically ill residents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Palliative Medicine, UniversityHospital Cologne, Germany. Barbara.strohbuecker@uk-koeln.de
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Strohbuecker
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Eisenmann
authors.forename: Maren
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galushko
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Montag
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Voltz
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D003643:Death; D005190:Family; D005858:Germany; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010166:Palliative Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D029181:Spirituality