Nursing home staff members' subjective frames of reference on residents' achievement of ego integrity: A Q-methodology study

Aim: To discover the structure of the frames of reference for nursing home staff members' subjective judgment of residents' achievement of ego integrity. Methods: Q-methodology was applied. Twenty-eight staff members who were working in a nursing home sorted 34 Q-statements into the shape of a normal distribution. Results: A centroid factor analysis and varimax rotation, using the PQ-method program, revealed four factors: identifying clues to residents' positive acceptance of their whole life span, identifying residents' ways of enjoying their current life, referencing residents' attitudes and competencies toward harmonious relationships, and identifying residents' integrated efforts to establish self-esteem. Conclusion: These subjective frames of reference need to be investigated in order to improve the relationships with nursing home residents and their quality of life. Consequently, the fundamental monitoring tools to help staff members make subjective judgments can be formed.