Quality of life in nursing home settings: Perspectives from elderly residents with frailty

Abstract

Frailty in older people is a challenge for governments, policy makers and healthcare professionals. It decreases quality of life (QoL) in older people, particularly those in nursing home settings. By adopting exploratory qualitative design with focus group interviews, this study aimed to explore perception of QoL in Chinese nursing home residents with frailty to inform nursing care strategies for improving the QoL of Chinese nursing home residents with frailty. Twenty-four Chinese nursing home residents with the frailty scores of 2 or above and at least 18 in the Mini Mental State Examination formed four focus groups to share their views on QoL. Analyzed by qualitative content analysis, the focus group data identified five themes – physical well-being to maximize independence in self-care, peace of mind to cope with irreversible impairment, connection to society, fulfillment of basic needs, and harmony in interpersonal relationships – and four sub-themes.