The Experience of Emotional Well-being of the Elderly People Residing in Nursing Homes: A Phenomenological Study

One of the important areas of elderly mental health is experiencing their emotional well-being. Small number of quantitative researches has been conducted on the concept of subjective well-being. However, qualitative researches have not been conducted in this area in order to understand the different aspects of emotional well-being. Therefore, the main objective of this research was to study the experiences of the elderly people living in the nursing homes in order to understand the nature of emotional well-being better.
This study was conducted with a qualitative approach, using phenomenological methodology. Researchers used deep and sequential interviews as a research tool to describe the life experience. Overall, in this study, 20 elderly who lived in the nursing homes of Kerman, Iran, were studied by using targeted sampling during a 10-month period. The collected data were analyzed using Schutz’s method and classified in form of primary sample phrases, subthemes, and main themes.
The findings of this study revealed two main themes of emotional energy (with themes of feeling social vitality, feeling loving-kindness), and emotional depression (with themes of frustration and traumatic life experiences) and twelve subthemes.
The senior participators in the study have experienced both emotional energy and depression during the time in nursing homes. It seems that three major factors, namely attention to their emotional and spiritual needs in nursing homes, social interactions with people inside and outside of nursing homes, and their physical condition played an important role in creating the experience of emotional well-being of the elderly.