Phases of the qualitative research interview with institutionalized elderly individuals.

The in-depth, open-ended formal interview is a mainstay of qualitative nursing research. However, difficulties with this method of data collection are common with institutionalized elderly individuals. During a qualitative study of urinary incontinence among nursing home residents, six distinct phases of the formal interview were identified: introducing, personalizing, reminiscing, contextualizing, closing, and reciprocating. These phases were discovered in the course of analyzing field notes and verbatim transcripts from open-ended formal interviews with 10 respondents. Allowing qualitative research interviews with institutionalized elderly individuals to unfold in this fashion may help researchers studying this group overcome problems with recruitment, retention, and "thin" data. In turn, more institutionalized elderly individuals would reap benefits associated with participation in research interviews and staff would ultimately have the opportunity to understand and appreciate life in an institution from the resident's perspective.