Safe, but Lonely: Living in a Nursing Home

How do residents in nursing homes experience their life there? Gathering and analysing the personal views of residents is an important way of studying the effectiveness of nursing homes. The aim of this study is to describe the experience of a group of nursing home residents. Fourteen residents were interviewed. The data were analysed by using a qualitative content analysis method. The main finding was that living in a nursing home is a ‘safe but lonely’ experience. Feeling respected, secure and cared for by the nursing staff, as well as having a sense of autonomy were regarded as positive factors by the informants. The reliability of nurses and the extent to which they meet the social needs of residents are factors that appear to need improvement. The findings that residents experience both loneliness and safety are discussed in this article.