The Needs of Hospitalized Elderly Patients: A Qualitative Study

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe and explain older adults' perspectives on the experience of their hospitalization. Methods & Materials: This qualitative research adopted a content analysis approach. Twenty seven participants (65-81 years) selected through a purposel sampling from three university hospitals in Tehran went through open in depth interviews. All the interviwes were taped, then transcribed verbatim and undertook content analysis using the method described by Kvale. Results: Six main contributing categories were emerged: Access to basic resources, participation in the process of care, empathy, respect and dignity, providing information, inducing hope and optimism Conclusion: These findings may help professionals to better understand the problems concerning the experience of hospitalization, to identify factors which decrease the stresses arising from the hospitalization and to find the ways to smooth the impact of the situation on the older people. The findings also emphasized the necessity of designing and implementing the nursing trainings in a way to better responds to the needs of elderly.