Nurses' perceptions about alternative residential facilities for Huntington's disease patients : a qualitative study

Abstract

Huntington' s disease is a condition in which the individual manifests a cognitive decline, personality changes and motor abnormalities. Consequently due to the impact of the disease on both the patient and family, the very difficult question of institutionalization or long term care will arise (Kent, 2004; Klager et al., 2008). In Malta at present long term care for patients with Huntington' s is being provided in psychiatric or geriatric settings, as there are few other alternative residences that accommodate and care for both juvenile and adult cases. The purpose of this thesis was to explore the perceptions of nurses working in the local psychiatric hospital about alternative residential facilities for individuals with Huntington's disease (HD). The research objectives of the study were to identify nurses' perceptions regarding alternative residential facilities, the reasons for admission of Huntington' s patients into present residential care facilities and whether these perceptions vary on whether the individual is a juvenile or adult case of HD. Moreover nurses were asked regarding which care setting could cater for the holistic needs of HD patients. A qualitative phenomenological research design was conducted to reach the aims and objectives of this study. The study involved a purposive sample of 5 females and 5 males, either mental health nurses or registered staff nurses working at the state run psychiatric hospital. Data was obtained through the use of semi structured interviews with a 100% response rate. Analysis of the data followed an interpretative phenomenological approach as recommended by Smith, Flowers and Larkin (2009).