ABSTRACT

Purpose: Spouses are in a vulnerable situation when caring for a frail partner late in life. Exploring their existential loneliness can be a way to understand more about their existential needs.

Method: A hermeneutic approach was used. Multistage focus group interviews were conducted with two groups consisting of five spouses, respectively, who met three times each. To work with the text, an approach was adapted where quotations are converted into poems in a linguistic manner.

Results: Existential loneliness can be understood as the following: 1) being in a transition from us to merely me, 2) being forced to make decisions and feeling excluded, 3) navigating in an unfamiliar situation and questioning oneself, and 4) longing for togetherness but lacking the energy to encounter other people. The main interpretation is that existential loneliness emerges when one is in moments of inner struggle, when one is forced to make impossible choices, when one is approaching and is in limit situations, and when one is experiencing the endless loss of the other.

Conclusion: For health care professionals to achieve a holistic picture, person-centeredness can be a way to make the spouses’ existential needs visible and to provide support based on their needs.

摘要

目的：在晚年照顾脆弱的伴侣时，配偶处于脆弱的境地。探索他们的生存孤独感可能是一种了解其生存需求的方式。

方法：采用解释学方法。多阶段焦点小组访谈由分别由五名配偶组成的两个小组进行，每个小组分别见面三次。为了处理文本，采用了一种方法，在该方法中，将语录以语言方式转换为诗歌。

结果：存在的孤独感可以理解为：1）正在从我们过渡到我，2）被迫做出决定并感到被排斥，3）在陌生的环境中导航并自我质疑，4）渴望团结但缺乏与其他人相遇的能量。主要的解释是，当一个人处于内心挣扎的时刻，当一个人被迫做出不可能的选择，当一个人接近并处于极限状态时，当一个人经历着另一方的无尽损失时，就会出现存在的孤独感。

结论：为了使卫生保健专业人员获得整体印象，以人为本可以成为使配偶的生存需求可见并根据其需求提供支持的一种方式。