title: Home care nurses' experiences with and perceptions of elder self-neglect.
abstract: Self-neglect is a poorly understood phenomenon evident to home healthcare nurses who describe older adults who self-neglect as disheveled, unkempt individuals living in cluttered, filthy homes. In spite of the concerns nurses report about these individuals and their situations, individuals who self-neglect give no indication there is any reason for concern for their welfare, and in fact some refuse intervention. The purpose of this study was to determine how home healthcare nurses perceive elder self-neglect, their experiences with this phenomenon, and to explore the steps nurses take when self-neglect is suspected.
authors: Yvonne O'Connell Johnson, PhD, RN, is an Associate Dean of Health Sciences, Surry Community College, Dobson, North Carolina.
authors: Yvonne O'Connell
authors: YO
authors: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004552:Elder Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D064650:Home Health Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009657:North Carolina; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010465:Perception; D036301:Qualitative Research; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires