Compiling life history resources for older adults in institutions: development of a guide.

Focus groups were conducted for nursing staff, visiting family members, and residents of a long-term care facility, with the purpose of developing a guide for compiling a life history resource. When compiling the proposed guideline, one must consider not only the topics to include, but also the process of collecting the information and the format for presentation. A key finding was that members of all three groups believed that the process of sharing and collecting life history information was an important step in promoting and enhancing the relationship between nursing staff and residents, and nursing staff and residents' families.