Research Centre Innovations in Care, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
University of Humanistic Studies, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Health Soc Care Community. 2021 Jan;29(1):78-90. doi: 10.1111/hsc.13071. Epub 2020 Jul 11.
The population of adults ageing in place and using home-care services is growing rapidly worldwide. Meaning in life (MiL) of this group of clients is relevant for healthcare and social workers. MiL is associated with many positive outcomes, but can be challenging for aged persons. Objective of this study was to explore MiL in daily life of community-dwelling aged persons who receive homecare. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was followed. Three waves of semi-structured interviews took place among 24 clients of a home-care organisation in the Netherlands between November 2015 and July 2018. Photo-elicitation was part of the interview procedure. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and dialogues enhanced understanding. Findings show that participants derived meaning from self, others, environment and living. The process of retaining MiL involved maintaining, adapting and discovering. We conclude that community-dwelling aged adults can draw MiL from many sources. Retaining MiL is interwoven in everyday life and requires continuous adaptation to ever-changing life conditions during later life. Although relevant general themes were sketched in this paper, the importance of each, and the connections between them, vary and come to light at the individual level. The themes in this paper and the cases in the appendices provide insights that may help professionals recognise MiL in their work. Besides listening to the stories of aged adults, person-centred interventions should support aged adult's strategy to retain MiL.
全球范围内，原地老龄化并使用家庭护理服务的成年人数量正在迅速增长。这一群体客户的生活意义（MiL）对医疗保健和社会工作者来说很重要。MiL 与许多积极的结果相关，但对于老年人来说可能具有挑战性。本研究旨在探索接受家庭护理的社区居住老年人日常生活中的 MiL。采用了一种解释现象学方法。2015 年 11 月至 2018 年 7 月期间，在荷兰的一个家庭护理组织中，对 24 名客户进行了三轮半结构化访谈。照片诱发是访谈过程的一部分。解释性现象学分析和对话增强了理解。研究结果表明，参与者从自我、他人、环境和生活中获得了意义。保留 MiL 的过程涉及维持、适应和发现。我们得出的结论是，社区居住的成年老年人可以从多种来源汲取 MiL。保留 MiL 与日常生活交织在一起，需要在晚年不断适应不断变化的生活条件。尽管本文勾勒了一些相关的一般主题，但每个主题的重要性以及它们之间的联系因个体而异。本文中的主题和附录中的案例提供了一些见解，可能有助于专业人员在工作中识别 MiL。除了倾听老年人的故事外，以人为本的干预措施还应支持老年人保留 MiL 的策略。
