Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ttngx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-11T14:51:55.729Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Exploring Constraints to Well-Being for Older Adults in Transition Into an Assisted Living Home: A Qualitative Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2023

Kaitlin E. Mueller ,
Marieke Van Puymbroeck ,
Brandi M. Crowe  and
Nicole J. Davis
Kaitlin E. Mueller*
Affiliation:
School of Health Science and Human Performance, Catawba College, Salisbury, NC, USA
Marieke Van Puymbroeck
Affiliation:
Graduate School, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
Brandi M. Crowe
Affiliation:
Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
Nicole J. Davis
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
*
Corresponding author: La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à : / Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to: Kaitlin Mueller, 2300 W Innes Street, Salisbury, NC 28144 (kmueller22@catawba.edu)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Transitions into an assisted living home (ALH) are difficult and may impact the well-being of older adults. A thematic analysis guided by grounded theory was employed to better understand how a transition into an ALH influenced older adults’ overall well-being. Individual, face-to-face interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 14 participants at an ALH in the rural, southeastern U.S. Two central findings that influenced well-being during the transition process were revealed: loss of independence (sub-themes include loss of physical and mental health and loss of driving) and downsizing in space and possessions. The themes support and broaden the Hierarchical Leisure Constraints Theory, a Modified Constraints to Wellbeing model is proposed, and implications for older adult health care practitioners in ALHs are recommended. Further research is needed on the Modified Constraints to Wellbeing model and how to better describe these constraints to older adults’ well-being when relocating into ALHs.

Résumé

Résumé

La transition vers une résidence avec services est difficile et peut influer sur le bien-être des personnes âgées. Cette analyse thématique fondée sur une théorie éprouvée visait à mieux comprendre comment le déménagement dans une résidence pouvait influer sur le bien-être général d’une personne âgée. Des entrevues individuelles en face-à-face ont été menées auprès d’un échantillon de commodité de 14 participants vivant dans une résidence située dans une région rurale du sud-est des États-Unis. L’étude a révélé deux principaux facteurs d’influence sur le bien-être au cours du processus de transition : la perte d’autonomie (les sous-thèmes comprennent une perte de santé physique et mentale et la perte de la capacité de conduire un véhicule), et la réduction de l’espace de vie et des biens. Les thèmes appuient et élargissent la théorie de la hiérarchie des contraintes aux loisirs (Hierarchical Leisure Constraints Theory), un modèle modifié de contraintes au bien-être est proposé, et des recommandations sont émises à l’intention des fournisseurs de soins de santé intervenant auprès de personnes âgées qui vivent dans des résidences. Des recherches plus poussées sur le modèle modifié des contraintes au bien-être sont nécessaires pour mieux définir ces contraintes dans le contexte du déménagement des personnes âgées dans une résidence.

Keywords

agingassisted living homeconstraint to well-beingtransitionrelocationwell-beingvieillissementrésidence avec servicescontraintes au bien-êtretransitiondéménagementbien-être
Type
Article
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , December 2023 , pp. 688 - 695
Check for updates
Copyright
© Canadian Association on Gerontology 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abken, E. S., Perkins, M. M., & Bender, A. A. (2022). Assisted living administrators’ approaches to advance care planning. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 41(2), 391–400. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464820988803CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Abramsson, M., & Andersson, E. (2016). Changing preferences with ageing: Housing choices and housing plans of older people. Housing, Theory and Society, 33(2), 217–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2015.1104385CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adams, E. V., Crowe, B. M., Van Puymbroeck, M., Allison, C. K., & Schmid, A. A. (2019). Yoga as a community-based recreational therapy intervention for older adults: A pilot study. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 53(4), 368–380. https://doi.org/10.18666/TRJ-2019-V53-I4-9728CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brandburg, G. (2007). Making the transition to nursing home life: A framework to help older adults adapt to the long-term care environment. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 33(6), 50–56. https://doi.org/10.3928/00989134-20070601-08Google Scholar
Branson, J. S., Branson, A., Pozniak, K., Tookes, J., & Schmidt, M. (2019). The role of family during older adults’ living transitions: Implications for helping professionals and family counselors. Family Journal, 27(1), 75–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480718809418CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Callahan, C. M., Unverzagt, F. W., Hui, S. L., & Anthony, J. (2001). Six-item screener to identify cognitive impairment among potential subjects. Medical Care, 40(9), 771–781. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.MLR.0000024610.33213.C8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooney, A. (2010). Choosing between Glaser and Strauss: An example. Nurse Researcher, 17(4), 18–28. https://doi.org/10.7748/nr2010.07.17.4.18.c7921CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crawford, D. W., & Godbey, G. (1987). Reconceptualizing barriers to family leisure. Leisure Sciences, 9(2), 119–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490408709512151CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Dodge, R., Daly, A., Huyton, J., & Sanders, L. (2012). The challenge of defining wellbeing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 2(3), 222–235. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v2i3.4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fields, N. L. C., Koenig, T., & Dabelko-Schoeny, H. (2012). Resident transitions to assisted living: A role for social workers. Health and Social Work, 37(3), 147–154. https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/hls020CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grabowski, D. C., Stevenson, D. G., & Cornell, P. Y. (2012). Assisted living expansion and the market for nursing home care. Health Services Research, 47(6), 2296–2315. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2012.01425.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris-Kojetin, L., Sengupta, M., Lendon, J. P., Rome, V., Valverde, R., & Caffrey, C. (2019). Long-term care providers and services users in the United States, 2015–2016 . Vital and Health Statistics (Vol. 3, Issue 43). Washington, D.C.: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsltcp/nsltcp_reports.htm.Google Scholar
Jun, J. S., Lee, K. H., & Bolin, B. L. (2015). Stress and spirituality on the depressive symptoms of older adults in assisted living: Gender differences. Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work, 12(6), 588–600. https://doi.org/10.1080/15433714.2014.966229CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kazeminia, A., Del Chiappa, G., & Jafari, J. (2015). Seniors’ travel constraints and their coping strategies. Journal of Travel Research, 54(1), 80–93. http://10.0.4.153/0047287513506290CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, V., Simpson, J., & Froggatt, K. (2013). A narrative exploration of older people’s transitions into residential care. Aging and Mental Health, 17(1), 48–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2012.715139CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mueller, K. (2022). Development and testing of the Mueller assessment of transition: A tool for measuring older adults’ wellbeing when transitioning into assisted living facilities (Publication no: 3062). Doctoral dissertation, Clemson University, All Dissertations. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations.Google Scholar
Mueller, K. E., Van Puymbroeck, M., Crowe, B. M., & Davis, N. J. (2021). Adjustment strategies for older adults transitioning into an assisted living facility: Implications for RT practice. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 55(2), 204–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mulry, C. M. (2012). Transitions to assisted living: A pilot study of residents’ occupational perspectives. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 30(4), 328–343. https://doi.org/10.3109/02703181.2012.741190CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Hora, K. A., & Roberto, K. A. (2019). Facilitating family life review during a relocation to assisted living: Exploring contextual impact on family adjustment. Clinical Gerontologist, 42(3), 323–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2017.1416508CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O’Neill, M., Ryan, A., Tracey, A., & Laird, L. (2020). You’re at their mercy: Older peoples’ experiences of moving from home to a care home: A grounded theory study. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 15(2), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/opn.12305Google ScholarPubMed
Phillips, L. J., Leary, E., Blankenship, J., & Zimmerman, S. (2019). Physical function, relocation, and mortality outcomes in residential care and assisted living residents. Journal of Aging and Health, 31(6), 903–924. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264317740047CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Plys, E., & Qualls, S. H. (2019). Sense of community and its relationship with psychological well-being in assisted living. Aging and Mental Health, 24, 1645–1653. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2019.1647133CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Plys, E., & Smith, R. (2021). Profiles of expectations regarding aging after relocation to assisted living. Journal of Aging and Environment, 35(3), 319–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/26892618.2020.1848966CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Resnick, B., Galik, E., Vigne, E., & Carew, A. P. (2015). Dissemination and implementation of function focused care for assisted living. Health Education and Behavior, 43(3), 296–304. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198115599984CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Resnick, B., Boltz, M., Galik, E., Holmes, S., Fix, S., & Zhu, S. (2019). Gender differences in function, physical activity, falls, medication use, and life satisfaction among residents in assisted living settings. Research in Gerontological Nursing, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.3928/19404921-20190930-02Google ScholarPubMed
Saunders, J. C., & Heliker, D. (2008). Lessons learned from 5 women as they transition into assisted living. Geriatric Nursing, 29(6), 369–375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2007.10.018CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scott, J. M., & Mayo, A. M. (2019). Adjusting to the transition into assisted living: Opportunities for nurse practitioners. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 31(10), 583–590. https://doi.org/10.1097/JXX.0000000000000184CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevenson, D. G., & Grabowski, D. C. (2010). Sizing up the market for assisted living. Health Affairs, 29(1), 35–43. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2009.0527CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stone, R. I., & Reinhard, S. C. (2007). The place of assisted living in long-term care and related service systems. Gerontologist, 47, 23–32. http://libproxy.clemson.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mnh&AN=18162566.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. M. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. M. (1997). Grounded theory in practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Tie, Y. C., Birks, M., & Francis, K. (2019). Grounded theory research: A design framework for novice researchers. SAGE Open Medicine, 7, 2050312118822927. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050312118822927Google Scholar
Tompkins, C. J., Ihara, E. S., Cusick, A., & Park, N. S. (2012). Maintaining connections but wanting more: The continuity of familial relationships among assisted-living residents. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 55(3), 249–261. https://doi.org/10.1080/01634372.2011.639439CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tracy, J. P., & DeYoung, S. (2004). Moving to an assisted living facility: Exploring the transitional experience of elderly individuals. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 30(10), 26–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, Z., Cai, Y., & Cai, J. (2020). A leisure constrained partial mediation model on the psychological mechanism of physical activity behavior for the elderly. Revista Argentina de Clinica Psicologica, 29(1), 21–32. https://doi.org/10.24205/03276716.2020.4Google Scholar
Zimmerman, S., Carder, P., Schwartz, L., Silbersack, J., Temkin-Greener, H., Thomas, K. S. et al. (2022). The imperative to reimagine assisted living. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 23(2), 225–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2021.12.004CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed