Nursing Home Adaptation in Visually Impaired Older Adults Using a Narrative Approach1,2

Abstract

This study used a narrative approach to examine the difficulties that older visually impaired people experience when adapting to life in a nursing home. The interview data were collected from one blind aged person (n = 1), focusing on the adaptation process from moving into the nursing home to the present and maintaining context of narrative that included the life history. Subcategories were extracted based on a framework of temporal coherence, causal coherence, thematic coherence, and situational coherence. This study revealed three factors related to adaptation to life in a nursing home for a visually impaired person, including psychological adaptation: becoming accustomed to life in the facility after changes in the living environment, having gratitude and maintaining “moderating human relationships,” and participating in activities connected to one's purpose in life. He was able to psychologically adapt and came to accept his death through an awareness of aging.