Experiences of Purpose in Life When Becoming and Being a Very Old Woman

Abstract

The aim of the study was to illuminate how very old women describe their experiences of purpose in life (PIL) in narratives about becoming and being very old. The participants comprised 30 women selected from 120 women who had answered the PIL test and had been interviewed about their experiences of being very old. The interviews were analyzed with qualitative content analysis, which revealed four themes: having a positive view of life, living in relation to God, having meaningful activities, and simply existing. Our findings show that very old women experience purpose in life both in their daily activities and in their contact with a spiritual world. It seems to be facilitated by a positive view of life. Although the results were dominated by a positive view of life, some of the participants saw their lives in terms of simply existing, and did not experience purpose in life.

Purpose in life among very old men

“…This study shows that very old men experience purpose in life mainly when remembering the past and when making future plans, which is in contrast to the Hedberg et al [38] study of purpose in life in very old women. The women in that study seemed to enjoy life and were grateful even for small daily things, such as having the strength to wipe off the table.…”

Sense of meaning in life among the oldest old people living in a rural area in northern Sweden

“…or B.L. One of the interviews has also been used in the study by Hedberg et al (2009). The interviews that lasted 4-8 hours concerned several topics, one of which was about experiences of sense of meaning in life.…”

“…Hedberg et al . () reported that oldest old women experienced meaning in life in daily activities as well as in contact with the spiritual world, they had a positive view of life, and they were grateful, satisfied and independent. As good nursing care is characterised by a holistic view with inherent human values, it is important for nurses to facilitate older adults to meet their spiritual needs.…”

“…King et al, 2006;Krause, 2007Krause, , 2009). This study is part of the Ume a 85+ study (Nygren et al, 2005;Hedberg et al, 2009;Lundman et al, 2012) that is a multidisciplinary project with the overall aim of exploring experiences of the oldest old. The study takes a salutogenic perspective on ageing and focuses on gain rather than loss, health rather than ill health and strength rather than weakness.…”

“…Among older adults, meaning in life was found reflected both from the perspective of meaningfulness, for example having had the opportunity to give to others, and from the perspective of meaninglessness, for example broken connections and suffering (Moore, 1997). Hedberg et al (2009) reported that oldest old women experienced meaning in life in daily activities as well as in contact with the spiritual world, they had a positive view of life, and they were grateful, satisfied and independent. As good nursing care is characterised by a holistic view with inherent human values, it is important for nurses to facilitate older adults to meet their spiritual needs.…”