As these themes are emergent, they allow the researcher to inductively generate comparison with theory, with the human becoming theory to be specific. The purpose of this study was to contribute to knowledge base about the experienced of being listened to by older adults living in long-term facilities, expand concepts of the human becoming theory, and offer ideas for more research. Research Problem/Assumptions The research problem in this study was to better understand how essential being listened to is for enhancing the quality of life and care of older adults living long-term care facilities .
This is important to study because it gives voice and interest to the Often underrepresented elderly and informs care givers of better practice. As humans reach an advanced age, they become more vulnerable and dependable. Many of them abstain from
...asking questions if they feel a burden to others. Care givers can alleviate such feelings and enhance their quality of life by showing interest and practicing the art of listening. In addition, by examining the experience of being listened to trough the voices of older adults, the study is indeed exploring the effect of this phenomenon on both nursing practice the elderly quality of life.
The research question presented was "What is the meaning of the experience of being listened to for older adults living in log-term care settings (Jonas- Simpson, Mitchell, Fisher, Jones, & Loincloths, 2006, p.48). This study was not hypothesis driven, but rather implied assumptions. The main assumption was that implementation of active listening by care givers will enhance the quality of life and care of older adults. Because the study was qualitative, it also assume
that all human behavior is introspective and that people perceive lived experiences differently.
Thus, care givers in long-term care acclivities can actively participate in shaping the life experiences of older adults in a positive way.
Thus, improving the quality of nursing care. Theoretical Framework When selecting the framework of a research study, the researcher must consider the differences between a conceptual and a theoretical framework. According to Green (2014) a conceptual framework explains the relationship between concepts by linking concepts from several theories, previous research results, or from the researcher's own experiences.
On the other hand, Green (2014) adds that a theoretical framework generally and broadly explains the relationship between concepts of interest in a research study and it's based on one existing theory. In this study, a theoretical framework was implemented.
The theoretical framework was based and guided by the human becoming theory, formally called man living-health. This theory suggest that the coexistence of human beings and their ability to make free choices affects interpersonal relationships.
Similarly, when reviewing pertinent literature, the authors constantly pointed out how interpersonal relationships affected the quality of human life. Even though no clear explanation, synthesis, or analysis of the literature was marked, the authors did provide relevant literature to conceptualize the research.
For instance, the authors provided evidence from various sources suggesting the importance to explore and understand the experience of being heard from the perspective of those being cared for.
At the same time, literature review us ported that making the free choice to actively listen to others affects interpersonal as well as interpersonal relationships. Likewise, the human becoming theory used in the literature review and the study itself, coincides
tit the theoretical framework used. The human becoming theory has three main principles.
The first principle states that 'Vat is real for each individual is structured by that individual" (Daly, 1996, p. 1 71), or simply that man's reality is given meaning through lived experiences.
The second principle implies that men and environment concrete imaging valuing, and language in rhythmical patterns. The third principle suggest that one constantly transforms and reaches out and beyond the limits set.
These same principles are indeed paraphrased by the authors by specifying humans "as unitary nines, who are free to choose in situations, and who actively participate in shaping experiences and moving toward new possibilities" (Jonas-Simpson et. Al. , 2006, p. 48). Design/Ethical Rigor The study used a qualitative descriptive design.
This type of design was mainly used because the study was interested in understanding how people make sense of their experiences in their own naturalistic environment. Specifically, understanding how older adults from long-term facilities perceive the experience of being heard. No control group or variables were used, but merely older adults describing the meaning of being heard in their own trial habitat. The design was set to obtain the elderly unique perceptions and words as the basic elements for analysis via interviews.
In addition, the design was highly flexible, and only consisted of interviews ranging from 15 to 60 minutes.
Similarly, according to Houses (2013) a qualitative design is characterized by being flexible, highly subjective and inductive, considers the individual's interpretation, emphasizes holism, the unit of analysis is words, and seeks for patterns rather than outcomes. Because the stuffs main objective was to explore a phenomenon as perceived by older adults
in their win environment, the study did not required ethical considerations. Methodology Participants were recruited from two long-term facilities in a large urban area in Canada.
The only inclusion criteria was that the participants were able to freely express their feelings and dialogue in English. Initially, 20 residents between the ages of 70 and 90 volunteered to participate in the study.
But because one participant did not talk about his lived experience of being listened to, this participant was eliminated. The ten participants from the first facility included five men with chronic mental illness or mild cognitive impairment, four men from a physical support unit, and one female from long-term rehabilitation. The other nine participants were from the second facility.
These participants were all females with multiple complex health issues. Researchers obtained the data by conducting a semi-structured interviews lasting from 15 to 60 minutes. Meanwhile, the steps in the study were clearly stated.
First, the researchers used a sidebar to guide them during the interview. This sidebar included the research objectives and the interview questions which came directly from the theoretical themes of the human becoming theory. Then, the researcher began by asking open-ended questions coming straight from the objectives in the sidebar.
While the participants expressed their personal experiences related to each question, the researchers used certain phrases if more detail or clarity was needed. Before ending each interview, the researcher made certain that participants had fully expressed their own experience. Thematic analysis with the theoretical lens of the human becoming theory was used to analyze the data.
In this type of analysis, participants' descriptions were moved through different levels of language abstraction. Then, themes that
encompassed all the participants' descriptions were developed.
The process of analysis began by identifying and separating main ideas about being listened to in each participant's written record. Then, all the participants' common main ideas about being listened to were again identified and separated. Next, the common main ideas were given a theme in the participant's language first, and then in the researcher's language. Lastly, the themes were linked to the theoretical concepts in order to expand theory guiding practice.
Before naming each theme and to ensure credibility, a methodological and heretical expert reviewed and analyzed the data. After careful analysis of the findings, three themes emerged.
The themes included Nurturing Contentment, Vital Genuine Connections, and Deference Triumphs Mediocrity. These themes were linked together to construct a unified description of the experience of being listened to. So, "The experience of being listened to is the nurturing contentment of vital genuine connections while deference triumphs mediocrity' (Jonas-Simpson et.Al. , 2006 p. 49). The themes found in this study helped to expand the human becoming theory', ND to enhance understanding about the mean inning of being listened to as experienced by older adults living in long-term settings.
The strengths of the study included providing enough examples and details about the emotional and personal perspectives of certain participants.
Also, the study fully described how each new emerging theme was linked to or expanded the concepts of the human becoming theory. The participants' freedom to fully express their emotions and perspectives gave the study strength as well. However, the study did have limitations. The study only allowed English- peaking residents in the long-term facilities to participate.
Also, due to the collaborative nature
of the study, it took longer to complete. Conclusion & Implications Even though the study had a few limitations, these did not necessarily influence the findings. However, the findings can only be applied to English- speaking older adults. For this reason, future research with non-English speaking older adults residing in long-term facilities is necessary. On the other hand, based on the findings of the study, it is fundamental that care givers acknowledge the importance of being listened to in older adult's quality f life.
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