Balance in life as a prerequisite for community-dwelling older adults’ sense of health and well-being after retirement: an interview-based study

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ABSTRACT

Purpose

This study aimed to describe community-dwelling older adults’ perceptions of health and well-being in life after retirement.

Methods

This study is part of a larger project using a mixed-methods design to address lifestyles’ influence on community-dwelling older adults’ health. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 older adults in age 70 to 95 years. Data were analysed according to a phenomenographic approach.

Results

The results encompass four categories describing variations in community-dwelling older adults’ perceptions of health and well-being after retirement: feeling well despite illness and disease, interacting with and being useful for oneself and others, independently embracing opportunities and engaging in life , and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Conclusions

The absence of illness and disease is not a clear prerequisite for a sense of health and well-being. To promote and preserve health and well-being after retirement, older adults strived for—and coached themselves to uphold—a balance in life, focusing on not burdening others. This life orientation after retirement must be acknowledged by society at large, especially from an ageist perspective, and in health and social care to preserve and promote health and well-being.

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Most cited references 65

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Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence.

Darren E R Warburton, Crystal Nicol, Shannon S. D. Bredin (2006)

The primary purpose of this narrative review was to evaluate the current literature and to provide further insight into the role physical inactivity plays in the development of chronic disease and premature death. We confirm that there is irrefutable evidence of the effectiveness of regular physical activity in the primary and secondary prevention of several chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, obesity, depression and osteoporosis) and premature death. We also reveal that the current Health Canada physical activity guidelines are sufficient to elicit health benefits, especially in previously sedentary people. There appears to be a linear relation between physical activity and health status, such that a further increase in physical activity and fitness will lead to additional improvements in health status.

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Social isolation, loneliness, and all-cause mortality in older men and women

A Steptoe, A. Shankar, P Demakakos … (2013)

Both social isolation and loneliness are associated with increased mortality, but it is uncertain whether their effects are independent or whether loneliness represents the emotional pathway through which social isolation impairs health. We therefore assessed the extent to which the association between social isolation and mortality is mediated by loneliness. We assessed social isolation in terms of contact with family and friends and participation in civic organizations in 6,500 men and women aged 52 and older who took part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing in 2004-2005. A standard questionnaire measure of loneliness was administered also. We monitored all-cause mortality up to March 2012 (mean follow-up 7.25 y) and analyzed results using Cox proportional hazards regression. We found that mortality was higher among more socially isolated and more lonely participants. However, after adjusting statistically for demographic factors and baseline health, social isolation remained significantly associated with mortality (hazard ratio 1.26, 95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.48 for the top quintile of isolation), but loneliness did not (hazard ratio 0.92, 95% confidence interval, 0.78-1.09). The association of social isolation with mortality was unchanged when loneliness was included in the model. Both social isolation and loneliness were associated with increased mortality. However, the effect of loneliness was not independent of demographic characteristics or health problems and did not contribute to the risk associated with social isolation. Although both isolation and loneliness impair quality of life and well-being, efforts to reduce isolation are likely to be more relevant to mortality.

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Social isolation, loneliness and health in old age: a scoping review.

Emilie Courtin, Martin Knapp (2017)

The health and well-being consequences of social isolation and loneliness in old age are increasingly being recognised. The purpose of this scoping review was to take stock of the available evidence and to highlight gaps and areas for future research. We searched nine databases for empirical papers investigating the impact of social isolation and/or loneliness on a range of health outcomes in old age. Our search, conducted between July and September 2013 yielded 11,736 articles, of which 128 items from 15 countries were included in the scoping review. Papers were reviewed, with a focus on the definitions and measurements of the two concepts, associations and causal mechanisms, differences across population groups and interventions. The evidence is largely US-focused, and loneliness is more researched than social isolation. A recent trend is the investigation of the comparative effects of social isolation and loneliness. Depression and cardiovascular health are the most often researched outcomes, followed by well-being. Almost all (but two) studies found a detrimental effect of isolation or loneliness on health. However, causal links and mechanisms are difficult to demonstrate, and further investigation is warranted. We found a paucity of research focusing on at-risk sub-groups and in the area of interventions. Future research should aim to better link the evidence on the risk factors for loneliness and social isolation and the evidence on their impact on health.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being

Title: International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

ISSN (Print): 1748-2623

ISSN (Electronic): 1748-2631

Publication date (Electronic, pub): 11 October 2021

Publication date (Electronic, collection): 2021

Publication date PMC-release: 11 October 2021

Volume: 16

Issue: 1

Electronic Location Identifier: 1984376

Affiliations

[a ]School of Health Sciences, University of Skövde; , Skövde, Sweden

[b ]Faculty of Caring Science, Work Life and Social Welfare, Department of Caring Science, University of Borås, Sweden

[c ]College of Nursing, University of Rhode Island, USA

Author notes

CONTACT Irene Eriksson irene.eriksson@ 123456his.se School of Health Sciences, Box 408, University of Skövde; , SE- 541 28 Skövde, Sweden

Author information

Catharina Gillsjö https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3970-1288

Lina Palmér https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4319-4584

Irene Eriksson https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9065-0677

Article

Publisher ID: 1984376

DOI: 10.1080/17482631.2021.1984376

PMC ID: 8725713

PubMed ID: 34633914

SO-VID: ff30a32a-0a54-4e52-afa7-309601328559

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Balance in life as a prerequisite for community-dwelling older adults’ sense of health and well-being after retirement: an interview-based study

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ABSTRACT

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International Journal of Applied Technology in Medical Sciences

Most cited references 65

Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence.

Social isolation, loneliness, and all-cause mortality in older men and women

Social isolation, loneliness and health in old age: a scoping review.

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