Becoming part of an upwards spiral: Meanings of being person‐centred in nursing homes

Introduction Previous research suggests that person‐centred care is positive for people living in nursing homes, but less is known on what motivates people working in nursing homes to be person‐centred. Previous research has focused on person‐centred care in relation to people in need of care, which may lead to a risk of viewing person‐centred care as a means to achieve quality of care, and not as a means in itself. Therefore, this study aimed to illuminate meanings of being person‐centred as narrated by people working in nursing homes. Methods A total of 23 persons working in a nursing home in rural Australia participated in group and individual interviews, conducted and interpreted in respect to a phenomenological hermeneutic approach. Results The thematic structure as emerging from structural analyses of the text indicated that being person‐centred involved a joint effort to think differently on what you do and why you do it interpreted as; Doing what you know and feel is the right thing to do, Being a person with and for another person, and Striving to do and be better together. The comprehensive understanding of these findings was that being person‐centred means becoming part of an upwards spiral of doing person‐centred actions and being person‐centred to become even more person‐centred and to feel a sense of belonging to a person‐centred culture. Conclusions Denoting the importance of being more of a person in one's professional role, this study highlights health aspects of being person‐centred from the perspective of people working in nursing homes, and complements previous research that describes the impact of person‐centred care on people in need of care. The findings could be applied to facilitate person‐centred care in nursing home contexts, and to develop prevention strategies to diminish negative impacts on person‐centred doing, being, becoming and belonging.