A sociological evaluation on the relationships of elderly people staying in nursing homes: Bursa Private Şifa Nursing Home example

Old age refers to a period in which changes occur in the social field as well as in the biological and psychological fields. The increasing aging of the population in Turkey and around the world causes the housing, care and social needs of elderly individuals to increase and old age to be seen as a social problem. Aging, which constitutes a global problem and is within the scope of sociology, has negatively affected the position and living space of the elderly individual in the family with the change in the social structure. Today, nursing homes are one of the priority institutions where all the needs of the elderly are met. The change of space that the elderly often need necessarily affects the psychological and social aspects of individuals and shapes their relationships in their new living space in a meaningful way. The purpose of this research is "How do elderly individuals staying in nursing homes evaluate the social relationships they establish with each other?" and to sociologically analyze the relationships of elderly individuals. To achieve this aim, a qualitative research was conducted by interviewing 16 elderly individuals living in a private nursing home in Bursa. Purposeful sampling was preferred in the study and the data obtained through semi-structured interview technique was analyzed in a sociological context. In addition, based on the data obtained to increase meaningful relationships in nursing homes, feasible solutions were suggested to improve elderly relationships. As a result of the evaluations, two main factors affecting the social relations of the elderly living in the nursing home were reached: It was concluded that there is a positive relationship between the reasons why the elderly individuals come to the nursing home and their social relations in the nursing home, and that the duration of the elderly individuals' stay in the nursing home is a determinant in their desire to establish a relationship. It is thought that the study, which includes an in-depth examination of these relationships, may lead to future studies.