Elderly Married Couples Don't Let Nursing Homes Keep Them Apart
Seniors work hard to keep their marriages alive and well, even after
one spouse falls ill and goes into a long-term care facility, according
to a new study from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.
Researcher Robin Stadnyk was surprised to discover that
community-dwelling spouses were heavily involved in the lives of their
institutionalized partners, and that many of the couples stayed active
together both inside and outside the nursing home.
Stadnyk, a post-doctoral researcher in the University of Alberta's
Department of Human Ecology, reviewed data from a qualitative study of
52 community-dwelling spouses in three Canadian provinces: Alberta,
Manitoba and Nova Scotia, for her PhD research. She found that the
participants were heavily involved in their spouses' lives, not only
through caretaking duties like doing laundry and helping with personal
hygiene, but also through nurturing activities that brought them closer
together.
"Most participants described close relationships with their spouses
before the placement in a long-term care home. They simply found ways
they could continue that closeness within the institutional walls,"
Stadnyk noted. Marriage-sustaining activities included watching TV
together, studying travel brochures and reviewing diaries to relive old
memories, even taking painting lessons together.
Some spouses also brought their partners home for regular weekly and
even daily visits. One 82-year-old man in the study took
weight-training so he could lift his wife in and out of the car for the
weekly trip home.
"The findings defy the common assumption that the partnership of
marriage effectively ends when one spouse enters a care facility,"
Stadnyk said.
Even husbands and wives whose partners had dementia continued to
nurture their marriages, shifting from roles as give-and take-partners
to benevolent caretakers. They made sure favourite treats were
available for their spouses, and that they were able to attend special
events. "Many related these activities to their wedding vows, 'In
sickness and in health, for better or for worse'," Stadnyk said.
The results were published recently in the journal Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation.
Spouses with institutionalized partners also found ways to cope with
their new solitude, described by one participant as 'limbo', by finding
'safe' activities such as family or church outings and limiting their
interactions to same-sex social groups.
Stadnyk suggests that rehabilitation workers help couples continue to
find ways to connect when one spouse is in a nursing home. Quiet,
private spaces are needed so couples can share quality time.
Improvements to policies to respect the private lives of residents are
also needed, Stadnyk said. Private accommodations, rather than shared
rooms, are often desired by couples and are increasingly being offered
in newer facilities. But even simple changes such as knocking on a
resident's door before entering are appreciated by spouses, Stadnyk
said. A secure place for personal items like diaries would also allow
couples to keep special possessions private. "One nursing home even
allowed a couple to keep a refrigerator in the resident's room, which
made it easy for the couple to share snacks."
Practitioners can also help couples find things to do together, and
encourage the well spouses to find activities on their own to sustain
their identities.
Contact: Bev Betkowski
University of Alberta
Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=62695
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