“Saluting” perceived sense of coherence in people with dementia by nurses
| Pages | 149-158 |
| Published date | 21 September 2015 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-10-2014-0042 |
| Date | 21 September 2015 |
| Author | Daniela Lillekroken,Solveig Hauge,Åshild Slettebø |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Public mental health |
“Saluting”perceived sense of coherence
in people with dementia by nurses
Daniela Lillekroken, Solveig Hauge and Åshild Slettebø
Daniela Lillekroken is Assistant
Professor at the Department of
Nursing and Health Promotion,
Oslo and Akershus University
College, Oslo, Norway and PhD
Candidate at the Department of
Health and Nursing Science,
University of Agder, Grimstad,
Norway.
Solveig Hauge is Professor
at the Department of Health
Studies, Telemark University
College, Porsgrunn, Norway.
Åshild Slettebø is Professor at
the Department of Health and
Nursing Science, University of
Agder, Grimstad, Norway.
Abstract
Purpose –Nurses employed in nursing homes have a unique insight into the lives of people with dementia
(PwD) and into the factors that may support and possibly enhance their sense of coherence (SOC). It is
currently not known precisely which factors contribute to supporting the SOC in PwD; therefore, in order to
address the paucity of research in this area, the purpose of this paper is to identify and present these factors
as they were perceived by nurses.
Design/methodology/approach –The study employed a qualitative explorative design. Participant
observation and focus group interviews were the data collection methods. The participants were nurses
employed in special dementia units from two Norwegian nursing homes. Data were analysed using qualitative
content analysis.
Findings –Data analysis highlighted a main category, with additional three generic categories. The main
category, “creating order out of chaos”concerns the nurses’explanations about how they could create order
in the lives of PwD lives. This main category is subdivided into three generic categories; “establishing
continuity”,“ensuring predictability”and “building confidence”. These categories were assessed as “salutary”
factors that may contribute to supporting the SOC in PwD.
Originality/value –This paper highlights the importance of continuity, predictability and confidence as
factors that may contribute to counterbalancing the state of chaos and to supporting the SOC in PwD. The
findings add a salutogenic perspective to dementia care and research.
Keywords Observation, Continuity, Dementia, Focus groups, Nursing homes, Sense of coherence
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The demographic shift towards an aging population in the past decades has increased the
number of older people with dementia (PwD). Recent reviews of global prevalence have
estimated that over 35 million people are affected by dementia worldwide (Prince et al., 2013;
Toro, 2013). Dementia is prevalent in Norway, with cases currently numbering almost 71,000;
this number is expected to exceed 150,000 by the year 2050 (Nåvik et al., 2013). The majority of
these individuals will most likely become dependent on health care as the dementia symptoms
progress, and they will most likely move into nursing homes.
In the last ten years, dementia has risen up the political agenda across Norway. In 2006, the
Norwegian government issued Report No. 25 (2005-2015) to the Parliament –care plan 2015.
The Dementia plan 2015 included a four-year action plan that aims to develop local strategies in
order to improve care for older PwD. For those who are living in nursing homes, the general
philosophy was to maximise the quality of life in homelike environments (HOD, 2007).
Dementia is a chronic illness (WHO, 2015) and it may be perceived by those that are affected as a
“biographical disruption”(Bury, 1982). Cognitive impairment, memory loss, difficulties to express
Received 8 October 2014
Revised 27 April 2015
1 July 2015
Accepted 28 July 2015
The authors are indebted to all
nurses who participated in the
study. The authors wish to thank
the reviewers for their thorough
review, which significantly
contributed to improving the
quality of the publication. This
work was supported by The
Research Council of Norway
(Project no. 194,493).
DOI 10.1108/JPMH-10-2014-0042 VOL. 14 NO. 3 2015, pp. 149-158, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-5729
j
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC MENTALHEALTH
j
PAG E 14 9
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