Views on Everyday Life and Reflections on Future Death and Dying Among Older Persons Residing in Nursing Homes: A Meta-Ethnographic Synthesis.
Peter Lundberg, Jane Österlind, Malin Olsson
PMID 42581494WHAT IT FOUND
Nursing home residents described everyday life as loss of home, body, routines and relationships, while actively trying to maintain identity and dignity.
They saw death as close, valued choices and social contact, and many wanted a painless death surrounded by relatives.
Key findings
01Residents repeatedly described loss of home, bodily functions, familiar routines, social relationships and control, and feared becoming bedridden or dependent.
02They tried to maintain identity by staying independent where possible, maintaining social ties and voicing preferences to staff.
03Death was viewed as close and natural; concern was often about dying slowly, becoming dependent or suffering, and some wanted a peaceful painless death with relatives.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a qualitative evidence synthesis, so it describes residents' views and meanings; it does not test whether any care approach improves dignity, activity, pain or death-related outcomes. The search used only the free-text term 'nursing home' and English peer-reviewed studies, so studies using 'care home', 'residential care' or 'long-term care' may be underrepresented. Five studies included some participants younger than 65 years, although the overall sample was 381 participants with a mean age above 75 years. The included studies mainly involved residents cognitively able to interview, so residents with advanced dementia or limited verbal communication are not represented. Thirteen of the 18 studies had no or unclear consideration of the researcher-participant relationship, and no studies were excluded for methodological quality. Three studies used the same data collection, so some findings may rest on overlapping participant accounts. The synthesis covers Europe, Canada, Iran and the United States, but nursing home systems and end-of-life practices differ across settings.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as showing that nursing home residents generally wish for death or that person-centred care has been proven to improve outcomes. It is a synthesis of what cognitively able residents said about everyday life and dying, not a test of any intervention.