Kontakt 2007, 9(2):353-357 | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2007.053

Factors affecting the adaptation of clients in the Home for senior Máj p.o.Health and Social Sciences

Petra Zimmelová^1,*, Dagmar Dvořáčková²

¹ Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích, Zdravotně sociální fakulta, katedra klinických oborů

² Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích, Zdravotně sociální fakulta, katedra supervize a odborné praxe

Old people's homes are one of forms of taking the institutional care of seniors. Coming of a client into a residential facility means a decision for life and big change for each senior. In the case of unsuccessful adaptation to the old age or to the new environment, intentional isolation and apathy can be encountered with losing interest in and meaning of the life of a senior.
For gaining data necessary in the determination of the target, a method of data accumulation was employed - based on questionnaires. The standard approach comprised a standardized dialogue with a closed type of questions. Thirty subjects were contacted. One of them was not willing to answer and two of them did not answer all the questions and thus, they were excluded from the total amount of the subjects. The senior health condition was clearly delimited as one of specific factors of the successful adaptation. Clients are mostly quite self-sufficient and they actively live together with their family members and friends. Within the framework of the research it was found that principal factors helping successful adaptation are as follows: willingness of joining the home, knowledge of the environment, support of the orientation in the reality and easy-access environment, saving of the confidence, dignity and human fairness, information on rules of the life in the facility, consequent active elimination of unsuitable handling, sufficient offer of free-time activities. The adaptation of clients in the old people's home is an individual matter. If we want to speak about successful adaptation, it is necessary to consider many different and simultaneously tightly related factors. A big emphasize is currently put or strengthening the quality of life not only in the productive age but also in the old age. Different mobilizing programmes are emphasized, which are at preventive and also therapeutic levels. Respecting of individual possibilities and desires of each individual are of importance.

Keywords: Adaptation process; old people's home; senior

Received: October 8, 2007; Accepted: November 12, 2007; Published: December 21, 2007  Show citation