What it is like to be an older person with memory complaints: the perception of women seen at a Physical Rehabilitation Center

Abstract

Objective To understand what it is like to be an older person with memory complaints from the perspective of women seen at a Physical Rehabilitation Center. Method A qualitative exploratory descriptive study was conducted involving a population of older women aged >60 years who had impaired cognitive function, as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and subjective memory complaints was carried out. A questionnaire was applied to characterize the participants and an audio-recorded semi-structured interview based on a guiding question was conducted. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using Bardin's Content Analysis. Results The age of the 19 participants ranged from 62 to 84 years, with mean of 72.37 (±6.72) years. Reading and analysis of the discourse produced in response to the guiding question revealed two categories: (1) feelings the older women experienced due to memory complaints; (2) daily life situations affected by memory complaints. Conclusion Being an older woman with memory complaints was reported as challenging, promoting changes in daily life, impacting situations that used to be routine, and requiring readjustments both for the older individual with memory impairment and those around them.