Family-focused nursing care of hospitalized elderly

The purposes of this research were to gain an understanding of how nurses in acute care settings involve families of elderly patients in planning and giving care, and to determine the extent of that involvement in nursing documentation. Data were obtained from patient records and interviews with nurses. Evaluated were characteristics of elderly patients and families, documentation of family involvement in care, and nurses' descriptions of family care. A comparison of data sources indicated that nurses verbalized far more inclusion of families in care than the written records documented. Results of this research support the importance of clarifying and promoting acute care-nurses' involvement of family members who are central to the care of increasing numbers of elderly persons.