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The purpose of this study was to get an extended understanding of how elderly patients experience their social situation when they live alone in their own home. Twenty elderly patients with help from the home nursing care were interviewed. Findings showed that most of the time the elderly were alone in their home, due to the absence of friends visiting, and mostly drop in visits from their family and community nurses. For many elderly the telephone was an important facility. The study highlight a more specific use of the word and concept of loneliness, and the importance of intercepting elderly who is in danger for being social isolated or lonely. In some cases it can be necessary to consider alternatives to the present home nursing care in the shape of assistants or other helpers who can stay in the home over time, including helping the elderly moving out of their residences.

During the last years there has been a wide reduction in institution places in psychiatric health care. The purpose of this study was to present how psychiatric patients experience their situation at home, and in what situations they need help from the psychiatric community nurses. Data were gathered from eleven qualitative interviews with eight patients. A hermeneutical approach and method was used in the study. The main focus was on the quality of life of the patients. The patients expressed a need of having an informal contact with the nurses and that the nurses focused on motivation and practical action. Three main factors showed out to be the causes related to the need of help. The first factor was the experience of psychological pain. The second factor was the experience of loneliness, and the third factor was related to the tendency of passivity. The patients need for help and guidance was therefore often related to emotional support, social contact and activities.