Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To describe the essential structure of the lived experience of feeling at home for older adults relocated to alternative care settings which provide some degree of supervision. METHODS: A purposive sample of 10 relocated older adults in three settings (i.e., one life care and two long-term care facilities) was studied using a qualitative design. Data were gathered through interviews and analyzed using Giorgi's (1985) method of phenomenology. FINDINGS: Fourteen themes existing in a dialectic of "at home" versus "not at home" emerged and were integrated into the essential structure of the phenomenon of home. Elders who felt at home had strong feelings of satisfaction with their lives, security, autonomy, and purpose. Those older adults who did not feel at home were anxious, angry, and depressed, and were consumed by a desire to be elsewhere. CONCLUSIONS: Some individuals have great difficulty establishing a sense of home in alternative settings. Methods of assessing older adults and designing interventions that contribute to establishing a sense of home could prove valuable in enhancing the quality of life for those who must spend their remaining years in settings other than their traditional homes.