Old, In Need for Help and Alone/Gamle, Hjelpetrengende Og Alene (Nursing Science/Sykepleievitenskap/Omvardnasdsforskning‪)‬

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to get an extended understanding of how elderly patients experience their social situation when they live alone in their own home. Twenty elderly patients with help from the home nursing care were interviewed. Findings showed that most of the time the elderly were alone in their home, due to the absence of friends visiting, and mostly drop in visits from their family and community nurses. For many elderly the telephone was an important facility. The study highlight a more specific use of the word and concept of loneliness, and the importance of intercepting elderly who is in danger for being social isolated or lonely. In some cases it can be necessary to consider alternatives to the present home nursing care in the shape of assistants or other helpers who can stay in the home over time, including helping the elderly moving out of their residences.