The narrative literature review presented in Chapter One explores the concept of independence referred to within western ageing policies, and argues that this concept is often poorly defined. It is argued that negative perceptions of ageing and dependency have influenced the western ideals of promoting independence among older people. The potential negative impact of striving for independence is explored, including the possibility of older adults denying increasing support needs due to fear of appearing dependent on others. The implications of continuing to promote an unrealistic and marginalising goal of independence are discussed. The research paper presented in Chapter Two provides a narrative exploration of older people's experiences of moving into residential care. This transition has often been considered to be a major, and potentially stressful life event requiring substantial adjustment, however little research has been conducted exploring the lived experience of this move, and how it is incorporated into residents' lives. Eight residents participated in individual interviews, and discussed this transition in relation to their lives. Narrative analysis exploring convergent and divergent themes across participant's stories revealed major plots of control, uncertainty and identity. These plots occurred throughout all eight narratives, and appeared to be important in influencing older people's perceptions of residential care; more so than their duration of residence. This suggests that considering the transition into residential care as a phase and time based event does not encapsulate older people's experiences; the clinical implications of this are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:587074 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Lee, Victoria S. P. |
| Publisher | Lancaster University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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