This research examined how the needs of elderly women are being met in
the hospital setting. Qualitative data were gathered through in-depth interviews
with eleven women between the ages of 70 and 93 who had had a hospital stay
in the previous year. Data analysis revealed that the system failed to attend to
participants' age specific needs. This failure created gaps in care which were
particularly troubling for elderly female patients whose frailty made them
susceptible to additional health problems. Participants received inadequate care
in such areas as bathing, walking assistance and help with eating. Hearing
impairments and denture issues were at times overlooked. These gaps in care
caused participants to view a hospital stay as a matter of survival. Participants
developed strategies to cope with gaps in care which included lowering their
expectations, developing support networks and relying on family members to
meet their basic needs and advocate on their behalf. Recommendations for
change include identifying elderly women as a vulnerable patient population and
defining the problems they face as structural issues as opposed to individual
problems.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/10221 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Freeman, Amy |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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