title: Meaning-in-life in nursing-home patients: a valuable approach for enhancing psychological and physical well-being?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the associations between meaning-in-life and physical, emotional, functional and social well-being in a cognitively intact nursing-home population.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Meaning-in-life is understood as an influential psychological variable that promotes health and well-being; meaning-in-life has been found to be a mediating variable in both psychological and physical health.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study employed a cross-sectional design. Data were collected in 2008 and 2009 using the purpose-in-life test and the FACT-G quality-of-life questionnaire. A total of 250 cognitively intact nursing-home patients who met the inclusion criteria were approached and 202 attended. The hypothesised relationships between meaning and multidimensional well-being were tested by means of structural equation modelling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The structural equation modelling model fit well with the present data, showing significant direct relationships between meaning-in-life and emotional and functional well-being, and a significant mediated influence of meaning on social and physical well-being.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Meaning-in-life is associated with all dimensions of well-being and likely plays an important role in both emotional and physical well-being.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Facilitating patients' perceived meaning-in-life might help ease emotional distress and physical symptoms, thus fostering well-being in cognitively intact nursing-home patients. Therefore, advancing staff nurses' competence in facilitating meaningful involvement, connectedness, nurse-patient interaction and symptom management is important for care quality and global well-being in nursing homes.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Sør-Trøndelag University College, Research Centre for Health Promotion and Resources, HIST & NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Gørill
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Haugan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009735:Nursing Homes; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: emotional; functional and social well-being; meaning and purpose-in-life; nursing-home patients; physical