P-07
Older adults’ perceptions of and experiences with (support in) maintaining or improving physical and cognitive capacities; a qualitative study.
Marian J.T. van het Bolscher-Niehuis (1), Madeleen J. Uitdehaag (1), Ad Bergsma (1), Miriam M.R. Vollenbroek-Hutten (2), Anneke L. Francke (3,4)
(1) Nursing Research Group, Saxion; (2) Faculty EWI, University of Twente, Enschede; (3) The Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), Utrecht; (4) Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam
Background and objective:
Increasing longevity provides opportunities for older adults to pursue new activities and to continue to contribute to their community. To what extent older adults can benefit from these opportunities depends on the physical and mental condition in which the additional years will be spent. However, staying fit and vital in later life can be quite a challenge because, when people age, the prevalence of frailty increases. Over the recent years, health and wellfare organisations have developed self-management programmes to support older adults in the proces of staying fit or slowing down the decline, but, older adults do not always seize the opportunities offered. To tailor the support to the specific needs, more insight into the older adults' perceptions of and experiences with (support in) maintaining or improving their physical and cognitive capacities is needed.
Methods:
Semi-structured individual face-to-face interviews with 16 community living older adults (range 65-89) were conducted. All interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative analysis was done by using the principles of Thematic Analysis.
Results:
Findings showed that older adults believe that maintaining fit and vital mainly depends on one’s own attitude and behaviour. Despite noticeable decline, they seemed to be satisfied about their current level of physical and cognitive functioning. It further appeared that the older adults focus on preservation of their capacities, not on improving them, and they do not feel the need for support in this.
Conclusions and implications:
The participating older adults carved out an important role for themselves in maintaining their own physical and cognitive capacities. Their perception and expriences provided guiding principles for the content and structure of self-managment support programmes aimed at supporting older adults in the proces of staying fit and vital.