Safe, but Lonely: Living in a Nursing Home

How do residents in nursing homes experience their life there? Gathering and analysing the personal views of residents is an important way of the effectiveness of nursing homes. The aim of this study is to describe the experience of a group of nursing home residents. Fourteen were interviewed. The data were analysed by using a qualitative content analysis method. The main finding was that living in a nursing is a ‘safe but lonely’ experience. Feeling respected, secure and cared for by the nursing staff, as well as having a sense of autonomy were as positive factors by the informants. The reliability of nurses and the extent to which they meet the social needs of residents are factors appear to need improvement. The findings that residents experience both loneliness and safety are discussed in this article.