[A study of social needs and human relations of residents of a nursing home for the physically handicapped].

Eighty-three physically disabled persons living in a nursing home for the physically handicapped were interviewed regarding family, daily living, and hope for the future. The results were analyzed from the point of view of their social needs and human relations. Concerning relations with the family, 76.8% were quite satisfied with their families. Satisfaction appeared to be dependent on their being able to communicate with their mother. In the nursing home, one bedroom was shared with 3 or 4 persons, and residents received a variety of care from female staff daily. While 50.6% of the residents sometimes felt uncomfortable with sharing a room with others mainly because of noise generated by the other room-mates, 77.8% considered living with others as rather desirable for themselves. Concerning relation with the female staffs, 34.6% of the people were not satisfied with the attitude of the staff in taking care of them. It is important that privacy and self-esteem of disabled people be considered in a nursing home. With regard to the future, 42.0% preferred to stay longer in the same nursing home, 19.8% preferred to be transferred to an other nursing home facility and 38.3% had a desire to leave the nursing home and live in the community.