Sirén Ann-Louise, Seppänen Marjaana, von Bonsdorff Mikaela B
Folkhälsan Research Center, Social Gerontology, Helsinki, Finland.
Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Ageing Int. 2023 Feb 21:1-21. doi: 10.1007/s12126-023-09522-z.
As populations across the world age, there is a recognised need for promoting social participation in older adults. Previous studies related to social participation have addressed that interactions perceived as meaningful may improve quality of life in old age. However, what is less clear is the nature of such participation from the perspective of older adults, as the vast majority of studies have been quantitative. The present study aimed to explore what characterises social participation that contributes to a meaningful everyday life, from the viewpoint of independently living Finnish older adults. Thematic analysis was used as an interpretative method drawing on semi-structured in-depth interviews with six residents aged 82 to 97 years from one senior housing facility. The analysis showed that social participation perceived as meaningful involved caring reciprocal interactions with people they connected with; having the freedom to make autonomous decisions and influence matters that affected their own or others' everyday life; and, on a more abstract level, feeling significant as a person. It furthermore fostered independence and companionship as well as reduced loneliness. To describe social participation that is perceived as meaningful from a theoretical perspective, we used Levasseur and colleagues' (2010) taxonomy and found that such involvement creates a sense of connectedness, a sense of belonging and relates to the concepts of social integration, social networking and social engagement. This type of involvement is associated with enhanced quality of life and a more meaningful life, highlighting the importance of creating environments where older adults can socially connect.
随着世界各地人口老龄化，人们认识到促进老年人社会参与的必要性。以往与社会参与相关的研究表明，被认为有意义的互动可能会改善老年人的生活质量。然而，从老年人的角度来看，这种参与的本质尚不太明确，因为绝大多数研究都是定量研究。本研究旨在从独立生活的芬兰老年人的角度，探索有助于实现有意义日常生活的社会参与的特征。采用主题分析法作为一种解释性方法，对来自一个老年住房设施的6名年龄在82岁至97岁之间的居民进行了半结构化深度访谈。分析表明，被认为有意义的社会参与包括与他们有联系的人进行关怀性的相互互动；有自主做决定并影响影响自己或他人日常生活事务的自由；以及在更抽象的层面上，感觉自己作为一个人是有意义的。它还促进了独立性和陪伴感，并减少了孤独感。为了从理论角度描述被认为有意义的社会参与，我们采用了勒瓦瑟尔及其同事（2010年）的分类法，发现这种参与创造了一种联系感、归属感，并与社会融合、社交网络和社会参与的概念相关。这种参与与生活质量的提高和更有意义的生活相关联，突出了创造老年人能够进行社会联系的环境的重要性。
