The Elder Orphan in Healthcare Settings: an Integrative Review

Montayre, Jed; Montayre, Jasmine; Thaggard, Sandra

doi:10.1007/s12062-018-9222-x

Cited by 25 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Media reports and online news platforms, particularly in the United States has increasingly written and published using the term (Marak, ). Although the terminology has been used commonly by the media, proponents suggested that further research is needed to gauge how older adults who fit the terminology, perceive and relate to the term (Carney et al, ; Montayre et al, ). From this participant group of older adults in New Zealand, a pattern of realisation and acceptance was noted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Carney, Fujiwara, Emmert, Liberman, and Paris () has highlighted the importance of supporting this growing vulnerable group, particularly with health and social care as they are often invisible to the healthcare system. This inattention is due to the fact that majority of elder orphans seeking healthcare are not always identified as potentially vulnerable or at risk because they are independent community dwellers and able to decide for themselves (Carney et al, ; Montayre, Montayre, & Thaggard, ). However, recent research indicated that with health decline and cognitive impairment, elder orphans are highly vulnerable to depressive symptoms and at risk of becoming unbefriended (Adams, Fortinsky, & Steffens, ; Farrell et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Case studies of elder orphans identified shared common characteristics, ranging from personal to circumstantial. Healthcare professionals suggested that using the right terminology for clinical assessments would highlight the needs of this vulnerable group and prepare healthcare systems to address these needs (Carney et al, ; Montayre et al, ; Varner, ). However, there is dearth of research on ‘elder orphans’, and definitions remained semantically complicated and unknown to the public, healthcare professionals and those being referred as elder orphans.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, there is dearth of research on ‘elder orphans’, and definitions remained semantically complicated and unknown to the public, healthcare professionals and those being referred as elder orphans. From their initial conceptualisations of the terminology, proponents suggested that the impact of using the term ‘elder orphans’ needs to be explored among older adults themselves who fit within the defined circumstances and characteristics (Carney et al, ; Montayre et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Views on the use of the term ‘elder orphans’: A qualitative study

Montayre

Thaggard

Carney³

2019

Health Soc Care Community

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Older adults living alone in the community with no immediate family network or support are referred in the literature as ‘elder orphans’. The grey literature has a growing emphasis on the importance of supporting this vulnerable group, particularly with health and social care. However, there is a dearth of empirical research on ‘elder orphans’, and definitions remained semantically complicated and unknown to the public, healthcare professionals and those being referred as elder orphans. This research explored the views of older adults on the use of the terminology ‘elder orphans’, and the implications of using the terminology in health and social care systems. A descriptive qualitative approach through face‐to‐face interviews of 11 older adults was undertaken in Auckland, New Zealand in October 2018. Narratives were analysed using thematic analysis. Two themes were identified from the analysis of interview data. The first theme was ‘realistic and practical term’, which emphasised the participants’ impression of the term ‘elder orphan’ resonating to themselves with great relevance to their current and future situations. The second theme is ‘visibility and vulnerability’, which highlighted participants’ both positive and ambivalent views on the use of the terminology in healthcare settings. The participants viewed this terminology as beneficial to alerting care services, and in promoting awareness among healthcare providers. Older adults from the study, who are living alone without immediate family networks and support self‐identified themselves as ‘elder orphans’ through a gradual realisation of their current and anticipated social situations. The use of the term within healthcare was considered and preferred by the participants to be used contextually, and targeted towards appropriate health and social care services within and outside hospital‐care settings.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Views on the use of the term ‘elder orphans’: A qualitative study

Montayre

Thaggard

Carney³

2019

Health Soc Care Community

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although the issue of older adults with or at risk of impaired decisionmaking capacity for future health care has been noted in many legal dialogues (Pope, 2014), there is limited research emphasis on health care and social issues experienced by elder orphans. The literature has also identified the need to conceptualize the term "elder orphans" from older people's viewpoints (Carney et al, 2016;Montayre et al, 2018). This article reports the qualitative data on the experiences of older adults who live alone with no immediate or geographically close relatives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elder Orphans’ Experiences of Advance Planning and Informal Support Network

Thaggard

Montayre

2019

SAGE Open

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Literature reviews on elder orphans recommended the need of an in-depth exploration of health care and social issues from their actual experiences. This article explores the experiences of elder orphans living independently in the community on their own with no immediate or close family support. The study utilized a qualitative descriptive approach through face-to-face interviews. Two main themes emerged from the data. The first theme was “advance plans” with the subthemes (a) my to-do list and (b) the right timing. The second theme identified was “informal support network” with the subthemes (a) family is right here and (b) familiarized support system. These findings offered insights on how existing informal networks influence elder orphans’ consideration for advance directives in terms of timing. Moreover, the findings have identified the extent of which informal support network has been received by elder orphans. Currently, the support threshold of these informal networks is unknown, which warrants further research.

show abstract