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Caring for the elderly. Introducing the theory of gerotranscendence as a supplementary frame of reference for caring for the elderly.

In the present article an endeavour is made to present an introduction to a new theoretical framework for caring for the elderly. The theory of gerotranscendence holds that old age is a stage with its own specific quality of life. The venture included two main phases--the introductory phase and the impact evaluation phase. During the introductory phase, ways of understanding and caring for the elderly (the new theory) were presented and discussed among 90 nurses and aids constituting almost the entire staff working with the elderly in institutional settings in a small Swedish municipality. Six months after the end of the introductory phase, the impact evaluation was carried out using a mail survey. The impact evaluation revealed that almost half of the staff came to a new understanding of specific care recipients and that a third of the staff also changed their attitude towards caring for specific care recipients. The introduction of the new theory also reduced staff members' feelings of guilt about inadequacy at work.