護理之家老人孤寂感之概念分析

Loneliness of the Elderly Living in the Nursing Home: A Concept Analysis

孤寂感是一種主觀且沮喪的情緒，常見於老人，而住在護理之家的老人，因為社會互動的減少，更是常見，然而目前孤寂感這個概念卻未被廣泛探討。因此本文藉由Walker和Avant(1995)所提出概念分析的方法，對護理之家老人孤寂感做概念分析，包括確認定義性特徵以及提出典型、邊緣、相關及相反案例來做比較說明，並分析孤寂感發生的前因及後果，及列舉實證性參考指標。經由此概念分析，統整出的定義性特徵有四項：一、主觀描述自己和重要他人分離，覺得孤單的感受。二、是一種沮喪、不愉快的感受。三、缺乏有意義的人際互動。四、渴望擁有自覺有意義的人際互動。希望藉由此概念分析，可增進臨床護理人員在確認護理之家老人孤寂感的一致性，並進而能發展個別化的護理措施。

Loneliness is a subjective and distressing emotion commonly seen among elderly, especially those in the nursing homes with decreased interpersonal interactions. However, the concept of loneliness has not been discussed thoroughly. This article applied the method outlined by Walker and Avant (1995) to analyze the concept of loneliness in the elderly living in nursing homes. The concept analysis aimed to determine defining attributes, construct model, borderline, contrary, and related cases, identify antecedents and consequences, and outline empirical referents. Through this concept analysis, the critical attributes were identified as follow: 1. separating from significant others and being alone, 2. feeling sad and unhappy, 3. lack of significant interpersonal interaction, and 4. desire for having meaningful interpersonal interaction. This concept analysis could assist nurses in understanding loneliness in the elderly living in nursing homes and therefore developing individualized nursing interventions.