Older persons in transition to need professional care in their homes will constitute a large group in municipalities in the future. The aim of this study was to obtain insight into nurses' experiences and perceptions of caring for patients in transition to receive homecare. Eleven home nurses divided into two focus groups were interviewed, and a phenomenological hermeneutical design was used. Four interpretations closely related to each other were revealed: it is essential to have an understanding of the patients' transition history; the nurse' repertoire is challenged in the transition process; care must be adapted to the patients' life world; the excellence of care is threatened by the context. The nurses strived to provide care based upon respect for the independent individual as a living whole. Their ambitions were, however, challenged and threatened by the caring context. The cooperation across organizational levels was pointed out as a critical factor with potential for improvement. This must be taken seriously to support the nurses in their endeavors to provide excellent care. 1. Introduction The transition from independence to needing professional help to manage daily self-care may bring about various types of distress and vulnerability to an individual. To receive the professional support needed in such situations, a healthy transition is vital [1]. Older persons in transition to need professional care in their homes will constitute a large patient group in Norwegian municipalities in the future, and many of them will have increasing needs for coordinated services [2]. In this respect, home care services and nurses working close to the patients in practice are crucial. They are key persons for enabling healthy transitions for older persons in need of home care and for dealing with challenges related to meeting the care needs of this patient group. As in other Western European countries, the demographic and epidemiological patterns in Norway are undergoing great changes. The number of older people expands, and, simultaneously, the number of persons with chronic and complex illnesses in this group expands [2]. One consequence of this development is that the amount of older persons in need of professional care in their own homes is increasing. While approximately 40,000 persons live in nursing homes today in Norway, more than 160,000 individuals receive municipal home care services, either in their private residences or in assisted living facilities [3]. This number is supposed to further increase after the Coordination Reform was brought into
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