title: Witnessing presence: Swedish care professionals' experiences of supporting resident's well-being processes within the frame of residential care homes (RCH).
abstract: The purpose of this article is to analyse the phenomenon of supportive care for older persons' well-being. The phenomenon is seen from the eldercarers' meaning-making through their lifeworld perspective at a residential care home. Based on primary empirical interview material with twelve professionals in the context of Swedish eldercare, a phenomenological analysis was undertaken. The result shows that the phenomenon of supportive care for older persons' well-being creates certain ambiguities in the professionals' meaning-making. In practice, it balances between the older persons' (from hereon called residents) needs and the conditions of the eldercare organization. The ambiguities (the what) is made up by three constituents: (i) freedom of choice for the older persons vs. institutional constraints, (ii) the residents' need for activation vs. wanting not to be activated, and (iii) the residents' need for routine vs. the eldercarers' not being able to know what the residents need. The conclusions drawn are that this ambiguity has consequences for the eldercarers' choice of handling supportive care for older persons' well-being (the how). They have to navigate between the support for authenticity, dwelling and mobility, and their own presence and time. In performing supportive care for older persons' well-being, the eldercarers have to consider aspects concerning the resident's lifeworld, the social setting of the eldercare ward, and the institutional demands of the organization. The practical implications for supporting well-being in the care of older residents are manifested in the importance of 'the little things', and the eldercarer's ability to give receptive attention, which requires presence.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences at Jönköping University, Sweden; School of Health and Education, University of Skövde, Sweden. Electronic address: anette.lundin@his.se.
authors.forename: Anette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lundin
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Education, University of Skövde, Högskolan i Skövde, AINstitutionen för Hälsa och Lärande, Högskolevägen, Box 408, SE 54128 Skövde, Sweden. Electronic address: lars-erik.berg@his.se.
authors.forename: Lars-Erik
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology (Faculty of Social Sciences), Uppsala University, Sociologiska Institutionen, Box 624, SE 751 26 Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: ulla.hellstrom_muhli@soc.uu.se.
authors.forename: Ulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hellström Muhli
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D012112:Residential Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration; D013548:Sweden; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: Care professionals; Lived experience; Residential care home; Supportive care; Well-being