RESUMEN
PURPOSE: Describe community nurses' experiences regarding the meaning and promotion of healthy aging in northeastern Thailand. METHOD: Data were collected through five focus group interviews with 36 community nurses in northeastern Thailand. Latent content analysis was conducted to analyze the data. FINDINGS: Healthy aging was characterized by the interconnection of older persons, older persons' family members, and the community. Healthy aging was associated with two themes: "being strong" and "being a supporter and feeling supported." The nurses' experiences in promoting healthy aging were described by the themes "providing health assessment," "sharing knowledge," and "having limited resources." CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study provide a deeper understanding of the meaning of healthy aging from a holistic viewpoint. Community nurses must pay attention to older persons and their surroundings when planning how to promote healthy aging. Person-centeredness should be applied in practice to promote healthy aging. The current findings contribute useful information that should help policy makers develop healthy aging strategies in Thailand.
Asunto(s)
Actitud del Personal de Salud , Envejecimiento Saludable/psicología , Enfermeros de Salud Comunitaria/psicología , Adulto , Femenino , Grupos Focales , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Enfermeros de Salud Comunitaria/tendencias , Investigación Cualitativa , TailandiaRESUMEN
Qualitative research, informed by grounded theory, was used to investigate gerontic nursing practices in Bangkok, Thailand. In-depth interviews with older persons, their families, and nurses were conducted and the data were analyzed using constant comparison. Five inter-related major themes in gerontic nursing practice were revealed: the reality of nursing practice, family caregiving, views of gerontic nursing, tension, and communication. It was concluded that, though nursing rhetoric supported holistic care, the reality of everyday practice is still biomedical in focus.