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Ahmadi M, Mohammadi-Shahboulaghi F, Hosseini M, Fallahi-‎Khoshknab M. The Process of Involving the Family in the Care of Hospitalized Older Adult Patients: A Grounded Theory Study. Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing 2026; 20 (4) :558-577
URL: http://salmandj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-2964-en.html

Objectives Family participation in care is essential for hospitalized elderly patients. For planning and evaluating interventions that involve family members in care, a deep understanding of the process and related factors is necessary. This study aimed to explore the process and investigate the factors affecting family participation in the care of hospitalized elderly patients in Iran.
Methods & Materials This is a qualitative study using the grounded theory approach. Participants were 22 Iranian people (13 nurses, 5 family members, 4 hospitalized elderly patients) selected from three public hospitals in Kermanshah and Tehran cities during 2023-2024, using a purposive sampling method. They underwent in-depth, semi-structured interviews that continued until theoretical saturation was reached. The data were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin’s method.
Results The analysis yielded 11 themes and 44 sub-themes. Contextual factors included “unfavorable hospital conditions for family participation”, “insufficient professional competence of nurses for involving families”, “complexity of elderly patient care” and “family capacity for participation”. The used strategies included “insufficient attraction of family members to participate in care”, “relative empowerment of family members to participate in care”, “unplanned handover of caregiving tasks to family members”, “families’ attempts to participate in care, “addressing the families’ attempts to participate”. The outcomes included “nurses’ concern about the safety and quality of family care” and “families’ suspension between helplessness and empowerment”. By merging the obtained concepts, the main concept of “unstructured family participation in elderly patient care” was obtained.
Conclusion Family participation in the care of hospitalized elderly patients in Iran is affected by several contextual factors. The findings can help increase nurses’ understanding of these factors and their outcomes, providing a basis for further research, designing interventions, and formulating hospital policies to promote family participation.