Sequential Two-Stage Network and Thematic Analysis for Exploring an Interdisciplinary Care Approach in Nursing Homes

Since various groups of older adults with different conditions and levels of function coexist in nursing homes, it is necessary to develop integrated care strategies through collaboration among experts across related fields. The purposes of this study are to identify the regularity of information sharing in managing daily function for older adults, with a special focus on interdisciplinary cooperation, and to explore a practical care strategy for nursing home residents. The collaborative methods of network and thematic analysis were done by conducting in-depth interviews with 33 interdisciplinary experts working at seven nursing homes. This study proposed three relationships and three themes as interrelated key factors for providing interdisciplinary care to the elderly at various levels of function based on the experiences accumulated by the practitioners. First, independent sharing is required to make professional judgments about how daily function in older adults changes from reported baselines. Second, practitioners accurately judge clinical situations and supplement experts' judgments through partial sharing. Finally, all interdisciplinary consensus through complete sharing achieves the ultimate goal of maintaining remaining function in older adults. These findings can be the first step in developing practical care guidelines for interdisciplinary use, and the results can be used to develop integrated assessment and intervention strategies.