Emergency Care in Care Homes – A Qualitative Study of Residents and Relatives Experiences on Acute Events

Background: Although many care home residents with to avoid hospital transfers and prefer to receive care in familiar settings, their preferences are often overlooked in acute situations. Person-centered care requires that the resident’s values and wishes guide decisions, yet in practice, choices are frequently shaped by others, such as relatives and staff. As health systems move toward more integrated, home-centered models of care, it remains unclear how care home residents themselves experience and influence these processes.

 

Greater attention to residents’ perspectives is essential to ensure truly person-centered care in acute situations. To address this gap, we explore how acute events are experienced from the perspectives of care home residents and relatives, with special emphasis on how to maintain residents’ personal integrity in these situations.

 

Approach: A qualitative study was performed with a phenomenological and hermeneutic approach. Field observations and semi-structured interviews were used as method. Data were collected in four care homes in one urban municipality between October 2024 and June 2025. In total, 180 hours of field observations and 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Purpose sampling was done to include residents, who had experienced an acute event in the care home recently, and/or their relatives.

 

Data analysis was inspired by Paul Ricoeurs Interpretation Theory. Stakeholder involvement was highly valued in this study. An advisory group consisting of representatives from the municipality's council for the elderly represented the perspectives of older citizens and relatives and contributed to all research phases. Additionally, an intersectoral Steering Committee consisting of researchers and municipal leaders and chiefs ensured practical anchoring and relevance.

 

Results: Data was collected between March 2025 and June 2025. Preliminary findings may be presented in spring 2026.

 

Implications: This study contributes important insight into the experiences and perspectives of a group, who is historically excluded from research. To provide person-centered care and treatment for care home residents in acute situations, it is essential to understand how these events are experienced by the residents themselves.

 

Findings may inform the development of care models and decision-making processes that are more aligned with residents’ values and preferences. This has implications for clinical practice and health policy aimed at improving care in acute situations.