The Second World War and nursing care today. An empirical study on the influence of war experiences on current care situations.

Supervision: Prof. Dr. Susanne Zank

Contact: Dipl. Heilpäd. Inka Wilhelm

Project description

This research project is designed as a contribution to the discussion of the long-term consequences of stressful to traumatic war experiences, especially as a result of the Second World War. By stressful to traumatic war experiences we mean experiences that took place within the framework of the Second World War or in the post-war period and that led to stress or trauma (in the clinical sense) on the part of those affected. Examples include flight and expulsion, the experience of bomb attacks, sexualised violence or hunger.

The project investigates whether and to what extent the long-term consequences of these experiences influence the care and support of older people who do not belong to the groups persecuted under National Socialism. The focus here is on the question of whether the long-term consequences influence care setting. In the context of home care, we are also interested in the extent to which the stress perception and biography of caring relatives are affected by the experiences of the times.

In order to first investigate the inpatient care of those affected, a questionnaire survey was carried out from October to November 2011 among a randomly selected sample of professional nursing staff in nursing homes for the elderly. The questions asked included whether war experiences play a role in everyday nursing work, whether they influence the setting for nursing care and how the significance of war experiences for everyday nursing care is assessed.

Within the framework of the study of domestic care situations of affected persons, caring relatives were interviewed whose domestic settings, according to their own or nursing and/or counseling staff's statements, the war experiences of those in need of support are significant for care. A survey using a short questionnaire is supplemented here by a more detailed written survey or, optionally, an interview.