Esbensen Bente Appel, Hvitved Ida, Andersen Hanne Elkjaer, Petersen Charlotte Møller
Copenhagen Centre for Arthritis Research, Centre for Rheumatology and Spine Diseases, VRR, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Scand J Caring Sci. 2016 Sep;30(3):489-98. doi: 10.1111/scs.12267. Epub 2015 Aug 29.
The number of older adults will increase worldwide in the next 30 years, with many expected to develop chronic diseases and consequently require additional medical assessments and adequate care. The aim of this study was to describe how a group of older adults who need geriatric assessment experience growing older.
A qualitative study was performed. The empirical data consisted of qualitative in-depth interviews with eight older persons referred to geriatric assessment (median age 76, range 65-86). The interviews were analysed based on Giorgi's descriptive phenomenological methodology.
The results led to an overall essence and five themes. The five themes were identified: (i) considerations to avoid weakness, (ii) compensation for the inability to perform certain activities, (iii) aides - a symbol of freedom or limitation, (iv) lifestyle considered being particularly significant and (v) considerations about the end of life as a component of growing older. The essence was defined as: illness essential for the experience of growing older and pointed to the experience of growing older that highlighted that experiencing illnesses and limitations served as reminders of their advancing age.
Growing older while in need of comprehensive geriatric assessment led to participants feeling they were no longer able to do the same things, they used to do. Consequently, compensation became an essential part of adaption to the altered situation. Aides that helped to overcome limitations in every daily life had the status of either creating freedom or being limiting in things they wished to do. Considerations about lifestyle were focused on housing and change of dwelling. This also led to thoughts about the future and end of life. Additional research regarding accommodations in older age is warranted to offer the best solutions for older people.
在未来30年里，全球老年人数量将会增加，许多人预计会患上慢性病，因此需要额外的医学评估和适当的护理。本研究的目的是描述一组需要老年医学评估的老年人如何体验变老的过程。
开展了一项定性研究。实证数据包括对八名接受老年医学评估的老年人（年龄中位数76岁，范围65 - 86岁）进行的定性深度访谈。访谈依据 Giorgi 的描述性现象学方法进行分析。
研究结果得出了一个总体本质和五个主题。确定的五个主题为：(i) 避免衰弱的考量，(ii) 对无法进行某些活动的补偿，(iii) 辅助工具——自由或受限的象征，(iv) 被认为特别重要的生活方式，以及(v) 作为变老组成部分的对生命终结的考量。本质被定义为：对变老体验至关重要的疾病，并指向变老的体验，这种体验突出表明经历疾病和限制提醒着他们年龄的增长。
在需要全面老年医学评估的情况下变老，导致参与者感觉自己再也无法做过去常做的事情。因此，补偿成为适应变化后状况的一个重要部分。有助于克服日常生活中各种限制的辅助工具，要么具有创造自由的地位，要么在他们想做的事情上具有限制作用。对生活方式的考量集中在住房和住所的变化上。这也引发了对未来和生命终结的思考。有必要针对老年人的居住条件开展更多研究，以便为老年人提供最佳解决方案。
