Department of Health Sciences, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada.
Department of public health Nursing, Kansai University of International Studies, 1-18 Aoyama, Shijimi-cho, Miki, Hyogo 673-0521, Japan.
J Aging Stud. 2020 Sep;54:100875. doi: 10.1016/j.jaging.2020.100875. Epub 2020 Sep 9.
This study explores the experience of aging among older Canadian women with physical limitations who live by themselves. While aging in place has been a policy priority in rapidly greying Canada, a lack of complementary public supports poses challenges for many older adults and their family members. Employing a qualitative methodology, and drawing from the notion of aging in the right place, we collected personal narratives of 12 women (aged 65 to 92) in two geographic areas in Ontario, including residents of regular houses, apartments, condominiums, assisted living and community housing for seniors. Through thematic analysis, we identified four overarching themes: 1) striving to continue on "at home", 2) living as a "strong independent woman", 3) the help needed to support their "independence", and 4) social activities to maintain self. Our findings illustrate how, despite their mobility limitations, older women can change their residential environment and their behavior by deploying the coping strategies and resources they have developed over time. However, we also found that older women are largely silent about their needs, and that experiences varied depending on life histories, health conditions, and the availability of supports in their wider environment (home care, alternative housing options, accessible transportation, opportunities for social and physical activities). We hope these findings will incite further studies and discussion to help make aging in the right place a real choice for anyone who wishes to do so.
本研究探讨了独自生活、身体受限的加拿大老年女性的老龄化体验。虽然在加拿大这个老龄化迅速发展的国家,就地养老已成为政策重点,但缺乏配套的公共支持给许多老年人及其家庭成员带来了挑战。本研究采用定性方法,并借鉴合适地点老龄化的概念,收集了安大略省两个地区 12 名女性(年龄在 65 岁至 92 岁之间)的个人叙述,包括住在普通房屋、公寓、共管公寓、辅助生活和老年人社区住房的居民。通过主题分析,我们确定了四个总体主题:1)努力继续“居家”,2)过“坚强独立的女性”生活,3)支持其“独立”所需的帮助,以及 4)保持自我的社交活动。我们的研究结果表明,尽管这些老年女性行动不便,但她们可以通过运用长期以来形成的应对策略和资源,改变居住环境和行为。然而,我们还发现,老年女性在很大程度上对自己的需求保持沉默,而且她们的体验因生活史、健康状况以及更广泛环境中的支持(家庭护理、替代住房选择、无障碍交通、社交和体育活动机会)而异。我们希望这些发现将激发进一步的研究和讨论,以帮助实现合适地点的老龄化,使任何有此愿望的人都能真正做出选择。