Finding a place to connect: A qualitative study exploring the influences of the physical and social environments on spouses' opportunities to maintain relationships when visiting a partner with dementia living in long-term care.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how physical and social environments influence spouses' opportunities to maintain relationships when visiting a partner with dementia living in long-term care. Interviews with 15 spouses whose partners lived in long-term care facilities for persons with dementia, observations of physical environments and participant observations were conducted. The results showed how finding a place for spouses to connect in the long-term care facility was important in maintaining relationships. Access to individual rooms was an important feature that enabled connections throughout the phases of dementia, whereas common areas appeared more difficult to use because small spaces limited private interactions. Health personnel were important in sustaining spouses' abilities to maintain their relationships in long-term care facilities for persons with dementia.
Faculty of Health Sciences, University College of Southeast Norway, Norway; Department of Social Work and Health Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway.
Linn Hege
LH
Førsund
The Faculty of Health Studies, Sogn og Fjordane University College, Norway.
Siri
S
Ytrehus
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012931:Social Environment; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*
dementia; long-term care; qualitative research; relationship; spouses