Exploring Nursing Care Experiences of Older Adults in the Cape Coast Metropolis

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to explore the nursing care experiences of in-patient older adults in the Cape Coast Metropolis of the Central Region of Ghana. The study employed a qualitative research approach with a descriptive design and recruited sixteen older adults of ages 60 years and above. The findings of this study showed five major themes, namely: physical, physiological, psychological, social nursing care experiences; as well as the perception of older adults about their nursing care experiences. A good nursing care experience in physical and physiological nursing care was generally reported by participants. The participants, however, reported poor psychological and social nursing care experiences. Furthermore, the perceptions of the participants about nursing care experience were reported as good; as informed by the meeting of their expectation of regular medication administration by the nurses. The findings also suggest that nurses are more focused on providing physical and physiological care which gives more cognizance to the biomedical care than the biopsychosocial care to patients. Therefore, there should be a wake-up call for nursing educators, nursing administrators, health institutions and nursing practitioners in the Cape Coast Metropolis to ensure the provision of holistic nursing care to older adult patients