Social Support in Elderly Nursing Home Populations: Manifestations and Influences

Authors

Elizabeth M. Rash, University of Central FloridaFollow

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of social support and the influencing factors on social support in nursing home environments. Observations and staff questionnaires from two central Florida nursing homes were used in this grounded theory study to answer the following questions: (1) How is social support manifested? and (2) What are influences on social support? Social support manifestations seemed predominantly superficial and did not appear to involve complex reciprocal relationships, however, when reciprocal resident tasks were observed, they appeared to have significant value and were sources of pride for the residents. Facility behaviors and policies required by governmental mandates appeared to result in significant resident dependency, a situation that mitigates against significant social support.

Keywords

Social Support, Nursing Home, and Elderly

Publication Date

9-1-2007

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2007.1623

Recommended APA Citation

Rash, E. M. (2007). Social Support in Elderly Nursing Home Populations: Manifestations and Influences. The Qualitative Report, 12(3), 375-396. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2007.1623