Experiences of Practical Nurses in Promoting the Rehabilitation of the Elderly and Their Education - A Secondary Publication

The significance of rehabilitation-promoting nursing care is emphasized in aging Finland. According to studies, rehabilitation-promoting nursing care enhances the functional capacity of the elderly. The Elderly Services Act obliges municipalities to create a plan to support the elderly population, emphasizing home care and rehabilitation measures. A large portion of graduated practical nurses will be working with the elderly, so the education of practical nurses must meet the needs of the workforce. The study aimed to produce new information on the implementation of rehabilitation- promoting nursing care in the elderly service system and on the education of rehabilitation-promoting nursing care for the elderly in vocational institutions. The research data was collected in the autumn of 2020 through individual thematic interviews with practical nurse students (n = 8). The data was analyzed using inductive content analysis. Practical nurse students’ experiences of rehabilitation-promoting nursing care for the elderly were related to nurses’ time management, organizational practices, nursing competence, nurses’ attitudes, nurses’ practices, organizational development, implementation and development of practical education, factors affecting the use of aids, and technological aspects of aids in the future. In conclusion, it can be stated that the content of education and practical work life do not align. It is essential to increase competence in rehabilitation-promoting nursing care and to develop organizational practices.

Prioritising, downplaying and self-preservation: Processes significant to coping in advanced cancer patients

To date there has been little research that describes the relation between the individual and their environment as the foundation for the coping process in advanced cancer patients. The aim of the study was to identify and describe, from a patient perspective, processes that are significant to coping with advanced cancer. We used the method Grounded Theory as described by Strauss and Corbin. Data were generated through qualitative interviews. A total of 18 interviews were conducted. The central theme was “The struggle to be a participant in one’s own life”. This theme involved three processes: prioritising, downplaying and self-preservation, each of which in different ways endeavours to either maintain or re-establish the feeling of being a participant. The awareness of the processes complement existing knowledge about coping in advanced cancer patients, by showing how patients make use of meaning-based coping efforts to increase their experience of being a participant in their own lives.