School of Medical Humanities, Capital Medical University, No.10, Xitoutiao, You An Men Wai, Beijing, 100069, China.
Outpatient Office, Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 101149, China.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Jun 21;24(1):1657. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-18878-z.
With the conflict between the promise of ageing in health and longevity and the limited availability of health resources and social support, older adults in China inevitably experience anxieties surrounding health risks. This study aims to investigate how older adults perceive the health risks that come with getting older, explore the degree to which health risks affect older adults, and advocate for active engagement in practices for managing health risks.
Using purposive sampling, three districts of Beijing (Xicheng District, Fengtai District, and Daxing District, respectively) were selected for the research. Qualitative semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted with 70 community-dwelling older adults who participated in the study. Data were extracted and analyzed based on a thematic framework approach.
Three main themes were identified: (i) the anxieties of older adults concerning health risks in ageing; (ii) the priorities of older adults for health risk management in ageing; (iii) the expectations of older adults for health risk management in ageing. The primary health concerns among older adults included disease incidence and function decline. It was found that basic health management emerged as a critical need for older adults to mitigate health risks. Moreover, it was observed that healthcare support for older adults from familial, institutional, and governmental levels exhibited varying degrees of inadequacy.
The primary source of anxieties among older adults regarding health risks predominantly stems from a perceived sense of health deprivation. It is often compounded by persistent barriers to primary care of priorities in managing health risks among older adults. In addition, the expectations of older adults for health risk management emphasize the necessity for integrated care approaches. Therefore, further research should give priority to the prevention and management of health risks, aim to reduce anxieties, provide integrated care to meet the primary needs and expectations of older adults, and ultimately strive toward the overarching goal of promoting health and longevity.
随着健康老龄化和长寿承诺与有限的健康资源和社会支持之间的冲突，中国的老年人不可避免地会对健康风险感到焦虑。本研究旨在探讨老年人如何看待随着年龄增长而来的健康风险，探索健康风险对老年人的影响程度，并倡导积极参与管理健康风险的实践。
采用目的抽样法，分别选取北京的三个区（西城区、丰台区和大兴区）进行研究。对参与研究的 70 名社区居住的老年人进行了定性半结构式深入访谈。根据主题框架方法提取和分析数据。
确定了三个主要主题：（i）老年人对老龄化健康风险的焦虑；（ii）老年人对老龄化健康风险管理的优先事项；（iii）老年人对老龄化健康风险管理的期望。老年人的主要健康关注点包括疾病发生率和功能下降。研究发现，基本健康管理是老年人减轻健康风险的关键需求。此外，观察到家庭、机构和政府层面为老年人提供的医疗保健支持存在不同程度的不足。
老年人对健康风险感到焦虑的主要原因是健康剥夺感。它常常因老年人管理健康风险的优先事项的持续障碍而加剧。此外，老年人对健康风险管理的期望强调了综合护理方法的必要性。因此，进一步的研究应优先考虑健康风险的预防和管理，旨在减轻焦虑，提供综合护理以满足老年人的基本需求和期望，并最终努力实现促进健康和长寿的总体目标。
