Self-respect through ability to keep fear of frailty at a distance: Successful ageing from the perspective of community-dwelling older people

Abstract

With population ageing, there is an increased interest in how to promote a good old age. A predominant concept in these discussions is successful ageing, which is mainly based on researchers’ definitions. This article aims to explore successful ageing from the perspective of community-dwelling older people (24 persons aged 77–90 years). Individual open interviews were conducted and analysed according to qualitative content analysis. An overarching theme was formulated as “self-respect through ability to keep fear of frailty at a distance”. This embraced the content of four categories: “having sufficient bodily resources for security and opportunities”, “structures that promote security and opportunities”, “feeling valuable in relation to the outside world”, and “choosing gratitude instead of worries”. Ageing seems to be a dynamic process rather than a static structure and might therefore be susceptible to actions. Paying attention to attitudes and treating the older person with respect, particularly with regard to worries about increasing vulnerability, can lead to better ways of promoting successful ageing.

Stakeholders’ views and experiences of care and interventions for addressing frailty and pre-frailty: A meta-synthesis of qualitative evidence

“…In terms of use of care this could include referral to services, with an emphasis on preference for services that would enable them to maintain their independence and ‘keep frailty at a distance’ [51]. …”

Using a Gratitude Intervention to Enhance Well-Being in Older Adults

“…Ramirez et al (2014) found reductions in anxiety and depression after elderly participants wrote letters expressing their gratitude to other. Hörder et al (2013) Perceived stress scores significantly reduced over the course of the intervention but this reduction was not maintained at follow up with scores returning close to those at the baseline.…”

“…The authors report that the association of a gratitude intervention with reductions in depression supports the finding of Seligman, Steen, Park and Peterson (2005) and Gander, Proyer, Ruch, and Wyss (2012), although the participants were younger in these studies. A qualitative interview study exploring successful ageing with 24 community-dwelling older people aged between 77 and 90 years, reported that the strategy of choosing to feel gratitude for what was positive in their lives rather than worrying about what they cannot change was associated with increased feelings of well-being (Hörder, Frändin, & Larsson, 2013).…”

The Impact of Positive Psychological Interventions on Well-Being in Healthy Elderly People

“…There is evidence showing empirically that this relationship between feeling gratitude and well-being is causal (Emmons and Shelton 2002;Horder et al 2013;Ramirez et al 2014). For instance, Rash et al (2011) found that gratitude interventions contributed most to all the aspects of well-being of an individual.…”