To Feel Belonging

"Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty"           
                                                                              Mother Teresa

 Imagine how residents feel when they come to a nursing home.  This can be isolating and lonely.  Research involving interviews of nursing home residents, staff, and families found that residents often lack social integrity.¹ 

          Social integrity occurs when we feel we belong and are part of a group.  For elders in nursing homes isolation can occur from both within the facility and from the outside community.  When new residents come to the nursing home, it is important to introduce them to other residents and help them to form friendship and become part of the group.  It is especially important that residents who are more cognitively aware are paired with others residents with whom they can develop relationships and have conversation. We should also encourage families to be involved and to help the resident be a part of the outside community as much as possible.  These are important ways to help elders maintain social integrity. 

Teeri, H., Kilpi, H., Valmaki, M. (2006).  Long-term nursing care of elderly people: identifying ethically problematic experiences among patients, relatives, and nurses in Finland.  Nursing Ethics, 13(2), 116-129.