背景:居家照護失智症患者乘載重大負擔,居家護理師是扮演重要一環,探索其照護行動意義經驗,可提升居家照顧者對病患照顧之品質。目的:本研究目的在探討居家護理師照護居家的輕、中度失智症病患時,其所提供照護行動之意義經驗。方法:以描述性質性研究法,採立意取樣方式,邀請20位具2年以上照護輕、中度失智症病人經驗之居家護理師,其中15位接受一對一半結構式會談指引進行深度訪談,另5位進行一次焦點團體訪談,收集的資料則採內容分析法進行資料分析。結果:依據個案之經驗,可歸納出四個主軸,分別為:1.克服障礙與規劃動線的日常實務、2.生理監測紀錄與追蹤的合作夥伴、3.延緩病程與生活照護的積極情緒支持、4.維護住宅環境安全的經驗傳承。結論/實務應用:本研究結果所提供居家護理師在照顧失智患者之四個行動意義,除可呈現居家護理師的工作屬性,了解其行動意義經驗,並可作為其他居家護理師或居家照顧者之參考。
Background: Providing care to patients with dementia at home involves a substantial workload. Home health nurses play a crucial role in sharing this load. Investigations into the experiences of home health nurses and their meaning of action can improve the quality of home care received by patients. Objective: To explore the experiences of home health nurses caring for patients with mild and moderate dementia and the meaning of the care actions undertaken by the nurses. Methods: A descriptive qualitative research design was adopted in combination with purposive sampling to recruit 20 home health nurses with at least 2 years of experience in caring for patients with mild and moderate dementia. Among the nurses, 15 participants were in-depth interviewed individually using semi-structured interview guide, and the remaining participants partook in a focus-group interview. The collected data were analyzed using the method of content analysis. Results: Four main themes were compiled according to the experiences of the participants, namely (1) daily routines of overcoming difficulties and planning traffic flow at home; (2) collaborators for keeping physiological monitoring records and tracking health conditions; (3) delay of disease progression and care for activities of daily living through active emotional support; and (4) inheritance of experiences in maintaining home environment safety. Conclusion and practical implications: This study revealed four highlights regarding the meaning of the action of home health nurses. It illustrated the job attributes of home health nurses, clarified their meaning of action, and provided a reference for nurses and caregivers of patients receiving home care.