Ingalill Rahm Hallberg
Professor emerita
Narratives by district nurses about elder abuse within families.
Author
Summary, in English
Twenty-one district nurses (DNs) narrated 44 cases of elder abuse within families. A phenomenological-hermeneutical analysis revealed that the experiences were complex and often included families providing care for an elderly person. The abuse seemed to be related to the inability of one party to meet the care demands required by the elderly, by him- or herself, or by the situation. It also seemed to be related to an inhibiting dependency between the parties, a negative execution of power over the weaker party, and a history of violence. When the experiences were considered within the perspective of Lögstrup's ethics, it appeared that the DNs tried to remain neutral by not consciously reflecting on the ethical demands in the abuse situations. The findings suggest that nurses need support to enable them to decide about provision of care at home and to judge "the core" in abuse situations. They might gain this support through reflection on a meta-level, taking various perspectives into account, and thus making it possible to achieve new dimensions for decision making.
Department/s
- Department of Health Sciences
Publishing year
1996
Language
English
Pages
220-236
Publication/Series
Clinical Nursing Research
Volume
5
Issue
2
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Topic
- Nursing
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1054-7738