Health Needs of Lone Elderly Chinese Men with Heart Disease during Their Hospitalization
Resource
NURSING ETHICS v.6 n.1 pp.58-72
Journal
NURSING ETHICS
Journal Volume
v.6
Journal Issue
n.1
Pages
58-72
Date Issued
1999
Date
1999
Author(s)
SHIH, SHAW-NIN
SHIH, FU-JIN
Abstract
Hospitalization is a unique health-illness transition for most elderly people. Whether the patient's health-related needs are met or not often influence his or her appraisal of quality of life during hospitalization. This qualitative study explored the health needs of elderly Chinese male cardiac patients during their hospitalization. Eighteen subjects were recruited from a veterans' hospital in northern Taiwan. These men all lived alone before their hospital admission. Data were gathered using semistructured interviews and then analysed by content analysis. Ninety- four per cent of the subjects described up to three categories of needs: met needs (72%), unmet needs (78%), and expected needs (50%). Needs that participants believed were met were those for psychological support, spiritual support , tangible support and information. Unmet needs were those for participation in decision making, maintaining daily activities and resuming a preadmission lifestyle. The expected needs included those for learning self-care strategies to maintain their daily activities after discharge from the hospital. The factors that framed the participants' perceptions of different health needs were identified to be lack of family support and locus of control . Finally, a discussion of the context background of this phenomenon, as well as some suggestions for its implications , are provided from a culturally sensitive ethical aspect.
Subjects
cardiac care
culturally sensitive care
elderly Chinese male patients
ethical care
health needs