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- Riekkola Carabante, Jenni, et al.
(författare)
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Spousal caregivers’ experiences of participation in everyday life when living in shifting contexts
- 2019
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1103-8128 .- 1651-2014. ; 25:6, s. 457-465
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: To promote health and well-being, and to meet the desires of the growing elderly population to age in place, elderly spousal caregivers need adequate support such as respite care services. More knowledge is needed about elderly spousal caregivers’ experiences in relation to participation, which is an aspect of health that remains relatively unexplored for this group.Aim: To explore and describe how elderly spousal caregivers experience and discuss participation in everyday life when living in shifting contexts due to the use of respite care.Method: A grounded theory approach was used during data generation and analysis, which involved repeated focus group interviews with 12 spousal caregivers.Results: Complexity and ambiguity was understood to imbue participation in everyday life. Being in charge of everyday life was challenging for spousal caregivers, and created a need for personal time. Respite care and home care service gave them time, although when interacting with social contexts other issues arose that influenced their own recovery.Conclusions: A holistic ‘situation centered’ approach that focuses on the elderly couple’s life story and needs might capture a wider perspective and enable adequate support that influences their health, well-being, and participation in everyday life.
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- Riekkola, Jenni, et al.
(författare)
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Healthcare professionals’ perspective on how to promote older couples’ participation in everyday life when using respite care
- 2019
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0283-9318 .- 1471-6712. ; 33:2, s. 427-435
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AimsThe aim is to describe healthcare professionals’ perspectives on how they understand and promote older couples’ participation in everyday life when using residential respite care.Design and MethodsEighteen healthcare professionals with varying degrees of competence and from one residential respite care facility participated in four focus group interviews. Data were analysed through qualitative latent content analysis.FindingsThe findings revealed a broad, multifaceted view of participation and ways in which participation in everyday life is promoted by these professionals. Trustworthy relationships between professionals, spousal caregivers and clients were implicated. Promoting participation also necessitated that clients have access to meaningful activities. In addition, participation entailed an environment that supported various needs.ConclusionPromoting participation for older couples that are using respite care involves multifaceted perspectives that consider social–relational aspects including both the client and their spouse. Furthermore, attention is needed to the meaning a change of context between home and the respite care facility has on relationships, environments and activities in everyday life. Such an approach could benefit the couples’ shared everyday life situation and in a wider perspective, also influence their health and well‐being when ageing in place together.
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- Riekkola, Jenni
(författare)
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Older couples' participation in everyday life - when living in changing and shifting contexts
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis was to explore and develop an understanding about older couples’ participation in everyday life when living in shifting contexts. To achieve the aim, multiple perspectives were sought and a variety of qualitative methods were applied. Data were generated through interviews and observations with older couples and through focus groups with spousal caregivers, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders and those data were analyzed through a constant comparative method, content analysis, and narrative analysis.From the perspective of spousal caregivers, the findings in study I revealed the complexity and ambiguity that influences participation in everyday life. Being in charge of everyday life was described as challenging in many ways and produced a need for recovery and own time. Interacting with social contexts and being confident with the provided social services, such as respite care, was described as complex. The partner’s wellbeing and participation had an impact on the spousal caregiver’s own participation when living in shifting contexts. The perspective of healthcare professionals related to residential respite care was captured in study II. They described a broad and multifaceted picture of participation in everyday life and how promoting participation for older couples involved building trustworthy relationships, enabling meaningful activities, and arranging a comfortable shared environment. Both of the partners in the older couples needed to be considered by the professionals. In study III, the perspectives of the older couples were explored. In order to understand how meaning and togetherness is created in older couples’ everyday life, the focus has to be on the couples’ whole situation, including their relationship. The results showed that the couples strived to continue living their lives in togetherness. Strategies used by the couples were shifting responsibilities, doing more things together than before, using residential respite care, and rearranging social interactions with family and friends. Study IV offered the perspectives of multiple stakeholders. The findings suggested that the focus has to be on older couples through maintaining abilities and creating comfort. Support is also required from both an engaged civil society and healthcare professionals that are motivated and have both competence and time. Further, social services need to work together to ensure that resources are properly available.Overall, this thesis contributes to a deeper understanding about older couples’ participation in everyday life when living in shifting contexts. The findings showed that acknowledging the couples’ relationship, seeing beyond the client and the spousal caregiver, was vital for supporting their participation. Furthermore, living in shifting contexts was multifaceted and the couples strived to continue living their lives in togetherness. The meaning that the change of life situation and context has on a couple’s participation in everyday life is important to consider when supporting aging in place. In light of demographic changes and challenges, bringing together the interests of older couples, professionals, systems of services, and civil society is vital for a sustainable future. Systems and situations that are both closely and remotely related to the older couples’ daily life need to be addressed in an ideal situation of aging in place. Knowledge from this thesis could be valuable for occupational therapists and other healthcare professionals, as well as social services that are supporting older couples to age in place. Consequently, this knowledge could be used to benefit the situations of older couples and their health and wellbeing when aging in place.
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- Riekkola, Jenni, et al.
(författare)
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‘Possibilities and challenges for older couples to continue ageing in place’
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Aging Studies. - : Elsevier. - 0890-4065 .- 1879-193X. ; 69
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ageing in place is an imminent concern for both older couples and communities. Identifying ways to support ageing in place is required to meet the needs and challenges of older couples and social services systems. Through focus groups with a total of 46 participants and a constant comparative methodology, this study aimed to explore and describe the experiences and reasoning of spousal carers, healthcare professionals, and stakeholders regarding possibilities for older couples to age in place. The findings consisted of one main category, ‘Facilitating ageing in place is a win-win situation with challenges’ and four interrelated categories, ‘Focus on older couples – building relationships and providing adequate services’, ‘Engaged civil society as a source of care and social inclusion,’ ‘Motivated professionals with competence and time,’ and ‘Services working together for a sustainable society,’ that present possibilities and challenges for ageing in place. This study suggests that facilitating ageing in place is possible but involves a complex series of challenges that can be linked to different contexts ranging from individuals and couples to civil society, services provided, organisational systems, and existing resources. All these aspects need to be considered and balanced to achieve a situation that contributes to older couples' possibilities to age in place as well as to a sustainable society.
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- Riekkola, Jenni, et al.
(författare)
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Strategies of older couples to sustain togetherness
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Aging Studies. - : Elsevier. - 0890-4065 .- 1879-193X. ; 48, s. 60-66
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to explore how elderly couples, who are in need of social services in the community, act and reason over time regarding their everyday togetherness. Data were generated through repeated interviews and participant observations with three older couples. A narrative method was used for data generation and analysis. The findings present four parallel narratives illustrating how the couples, over time, strove to continue living their lives in togetherness despite the many challenges that had emerged. These narratives show the complexity and variety of strategies that the couples adopted to handle different situations of everyday life and the couples’ experiences and feelings connected to these situations. The strategies that the couples used resulted, for example, in performing more activities together in another way, using respite care and reorganizing their social interactions. The spousal caregiver had a leading role to manage day-to-day life and to initiate and perform the strategies. Simultaneously, an important reciprocity existed in their relationship that gave meaning to their efforts of sustaining togetherness. These findings give a deeper understanding of the complexity of their situation and of how meaning is created in their everyday life through enacted togetherness. The findings highlight the need for professionals within social services in the community to embrace a couple's whole situation, involving both partners.
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