Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to understand the nurses' experiences of caring for demented older persons in geriatric in care facilities.
METHODS
The subjects were ten nurses employed in geriatric care facilities. Open in-depth interviews were used to collect data from January, 2010 to October, 2010. The Colaizzi phenomenological method was used for data analysis.
RESULTS
The experiences of nurses' caring for patients with dementia were divided into the following six categories: 'new encounter', 'understanding of intention and satisfying', 'dilemma of caring', 'contriving of comfort', 'comprehensive coordinator', and 'being present'. There were 15 clusters of themes. The subjects stated that the best caring for the demented older persons were 'encounter, knowing, and being with them'.
CONCLUSION
Nurses' caring could improve the quality of life for demented older patients in geriatric care facility. These results suggest that institutional, administrational strategies and schemes need to cluster around the relationship with patients who would include encounter knowing and being with them.