Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Land, History and People: Older people’s Stories about Meaningful Activities and Social Relations in Later Life

  • Published:
Journal of Population Ageing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Social and humanistic gerontology have challenged the narratives of pessimism and decline embedded in bio-medical models of aging and care. One stream of criticism comes from literature about active ageing, and another from literature on person-centred care. A common concern is how to promote well-being during old age. This study explores the possibilities of promoting well-being and person-centred care practices in the context of home-based elderly care. It is based on qualitative interviews and observational data from two rural municipalities in Northern Norway. Using descriptive-interpretive qualitative research methods, we have explored the met and unmet needs of 28 older adults receiving home-based care services. The interviews revealed that their needs for medical treatment and practical assistance in the home were largely accommodated for. However, they had needs that frequently remained unaddressed, particularly the need for social interaction and for engaging in meaningful everyday activities outside the house. What is experienced as meaningful to our participants is embedded in local landscapes and practices, and in their personal biographies and bodily experiences. We show how carers and local communities may promote well-being by accommodating for embodied experiences that create a sense of connectedness to the land, history and people.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The project “Ageing at home: Innovation in home-based elderly care in rural parts of Northern Norway” was financed by the Regional Research Program of Northern Norway (RFF Nord). The program required cooperation between researchers and public or private organisations in Northern Norway, and the two municipalities in question participated as partners. Thus, the two municipalities were chosen based on geographical and demographical characteristics.

  2. Qualitative research encompasses a wide range of approaches, including pluralistic approaches combining different methodological traditions (see for example Frost et al. 2010; Taber 2010). We agree with Elliot and Timulak (2005: 148) that emphasising brand names and minor differences between different approaches can be confusing and proprietary, and take a generic approach that emphasises common qualitative methodological practices.

  3. The names used in this article are pseudonyms, with the exception of the couple running the Thursday Club. They are, according to their own wishes, referred to by their real names.

References

  • Amzat, I. H., & Jayawardena, P. (2016). Emotional loneliness and coping strategies: A reference to older Malaysians at nursing homes. Journal of Population Ageing, 9(3), 227–247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-015-9135-x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, G. J. (2003). Locating a geography of nursing: Space, place and the progress of geographical thought. Nursing Philosophy, 4(3), 231–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berge, M. S. (2017). Telecare – Where, when, why and for whom does it work? A realist evaluation of a Norwegian project. Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering, 4. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055668317693737.

  • Blix, B. H., Hamran, T., & Normann, H. K. (2013). Struggles of being and becoming: A dialogical narrative analysis of the life stories of Sami elderly. Journal of Aging Studies, 27(3), 264–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2013.05.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boudiny, K. I. M. (2012). ‘Active ageing’: From empty rhetoric to effective policy tool. Ageing and Society, 33(6), 1077–1098. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X1200030X.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breheny, M., & Griffiths, Z. (2017). “I had a good time when I was young”: Interpreting descriptions of continuity among older people. Journal of Aging Studies, 41, 36–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2017.03.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brittain, K., Corner, L., Robinson, L., & Bond, J. (2010). Ageing in place and technologies of place: The lived experience of people with dementia in changing social, physical and technological environments. Sociology of Health & Illness, 32(2), 272–287. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2009.01203.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruens, M. T. (2013). Dementia beyond structures of medicalisation and cultural neglect. In J. Baars, J. Dohmen, A. Grenier, & C. Phillipson (Eds.), Ageing, meaning and social structure. Connecting critical and humanistic gerontology (pp. 81–96). Bristol: Policy Press at the University of Bristol.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Buse, C., & Twigg, J. (2016). Materialising memories: Exploring the stories of people with dementia through dress. Ageing and Society, 36(6), 1115–1135. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X15000185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calasanti, T., & Repetti, M. (2018). Swiss retirees as “active agers”: A critical look at this new social role. Journal of Population Ageing, 11(1), 23–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-017-9212-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charmaz, K. (1999). Stories of suffering: Subjective Tales and Research narratives. Qualitative Health Research, 9(3), 362–382. https://doi.org/10.1177/104973239900900306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charmaz, K. (2005). Grounded theory in the 21th century: Application for advancing social justice studies. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (Third ed., pp. 507–535). Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: Sage Publications.

  • Chong, A. M.-L., Ng, S.-H., Woo, J., & Kwan, A. Y.-H. (2006). Positive ageing: The views of middle-aged and older adults in Hong Kong. Ageing and Society, 26(2), 243–265. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X05004228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, A., & Warren, L. (2007). Hopes, fears and expectations about the future: What do older people's stories tell us about active ageing? Ageing and Society, 27(4), 465–488. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X06005824.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2017). World population prospects the 2017 revision key findings and advance tables. New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Depp, C. A., & Jeste, D. V. (2006). Definitions and predictors of successful aging: A comprehensive review of larger quantitative studies. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14(1), 6–20. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.JGP.0000192501.03069.bc.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Driessen, A. (2018). Pleasure and dementia: On becoming an appreciating subject. Cambridge Journal of Anthropology, 36(1), 23–39. https://doi.org/10.3167/cja.2018.360103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, R., & Timulak, L. (2005). Descriptive and interpretive approaches to qualitative research). In P. Miles & J. Gilbert (Eds.), A handbook of research methods in clinical and health psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emlet, C. A., Harris, L., Furlotte, C., Brennan, D. J., & Pierpaoli, C. M. (2017). ‘I'm happy in my life now, I'm a positive person’: Approaches to successful ageing in older adults living with HIV in Ontario, Canada. Ageing and Society, 37(10), 2128–2151. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X16000878.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esping-Andersen, G. (1992). The three political economies of the welfare state. In J. E. Kolberg (Ed.), The study of welfare state regimes (pp. 92–123). New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esping-Andersen, G. (1999). Social foundations of postindustrial economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  • Etherington, K. (2007). Ethical research in reflexive relationships. Qualitative Inquiry, 13(5), 599–616. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800407301175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. (2012). Demography, active ageing and pensions. In Social Europe guide (Vol. 3). Luxembourg: Directorate-General for Employment.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, B. J., & Specht, D. K. (1999). Successful aging and creativity in later life. Journal of Aging Studies, 13(4), 457–472. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0890-4065(99)00021-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, N. J. (2005). Cultures of ageing in Thailand and Australia. (what can an ageing body do?). Sociology, 39(3), 481–498. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038505052489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frost, N., Nolas, S. M., Brooks-Gordon, B., Esin, C., Holt, A., Mehdizadeh, L., & Shinebourne, P. (2010). Pluralism in qualitative research: The impact of different researchers and qualitative approaches on the analysis of qualitative data. Qualitative Research, 10(4), 441–460. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794110366802.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gabriel, Z., & Bowling, A. N. N. (2004). Quality of life from the perspectives of older people. Ageing and Society, 24(5), 675–691. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X03001582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guillemin, M., & Gillam, L. (2004). Ethics, reflexivity, and “ethically important moments” in research. Qualitative Inquiry, 10(2), 261–280. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800403262360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Health Services Supervision Act. (2011). Act relating to municipal Health and care services, etc. LOV-2011-06-24-30. Ministry of Health and Care Services.

  • Helgøy, I. (2005). Active ageing and the Norwegian health care system. (Vol. 13/2005). Bergen: Uni Rokkan Centre.

  • Higgs, P., & Gilleard, C. (2015). Rethinking old age: Theorising the fourth age. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobsen, F. F. (2015). Understanding public elderly care policy in Norway: A narrative analysis of governmental White papers. Journal of Aging Studies, 34(2015), 199–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2015.04.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, G., & Farmer, J. (2009). What older people want: Evidence from a study of remote Scottish communities. Rural and Remote Health, 9(2), 1166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitwood, T. (1997). Dementia reconsidered : the person comes first (rethinking ageing series). Buckingham: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kjølseth, I., Ekeberg, O., & Steihaug, S. (2009). "Why do they become vulnerable when faced with the challenges of old age?" elderly people who committed suicide, described by those who knew them. International Psychogeriatrics, 21(5), 903–912. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1041610209990342.

  • Kjølseth, I., Ekeberg, O., & Steihaug, S. (2010). Why suicide? Elderly people who committed suicide and their experience of life in the period before their death. International Psychogeriatrics, 22(2), 209–218. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1041610209990949.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, S. (2014). Permanent personhood or meaningful decline: Toward a critical anthropology of successful aging. Journal of Aging Studies, 29(1), 41–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2013.12.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang, J., & Marier, P. (2017). Awaiting long-term Care Services in a Rapidly Changing Environment: Voices from older Chinese adults. Journal of Population Ageing, 10(4), 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-017-9173-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meld. St. 15 (2017–2018). Leve hele livet. En kvalitetsreform for eldre. Oslo: Helse- og omsorgsdepartementet.

  • Michael, Y. L., Green, M. K., & Farquhar, S. A. (2006). Neighborhood design and active aging. Health & Place, 12(4), 734–740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2005.08.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moen, P., Dempster-McClain, D., & Williams, R. M. (1992). Successful aging: A life-course perspective on Women's multiple roles and health. American Journal of Sociology, 97(6), 1612–1638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mørk, E. (2013). Hjemme så lenge som mulig. In J. Ramm (Ed.), Eldres bruk av helse- og omsorgstjenester (pp. 63–68). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå.

    Google Scholar 

  • Munkejord, M. C., Eggebø, H., & Schönfelder, W. (2017) Hvordan ivaretas den sosiale omsorgen? En studie av brukeres, pårørendes og ansattes erfaringer med hjemmebasert eldreomsorg. Bergen: Uni Research. https://uni.no/media/manual_upload/Rapport_3-2017_Munkejord_Eggeb%C3%B8_og_Sch%C3%B6nfelder. Accessed 31 Nov 2019.

  • Munkejord, M. C., Schönfelder, W., & Eggebø, H. (2018a) “Hjemme best? En tematisk analyse av eldres fortellinger om omsorg og trygghet i eget hjem Home sweet home?”. Tidsskrift for Omsorgsforskning 4(1):6–16. https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.2387-5984-2018-01-03.

  • Munkejord, M. C., Schönfelder, W., & Eggebø, H. (2018b) “Sosial omsorg” − fra blind flekk til sentralt innsatsområde i hjemmebasert eldreomsorg?". Tidsskrift for omsorgsforskning 4(03):298–306. https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.2387-5984-2018-03-12.

  • Munkejord, M. C., Schönfelder, W., & Eggebø, H. (2019) "Voices from the North: Stories About Active Ageing, Everyday Life and Home-Based Care Among Older People in Northern Norway" i P. Naskali, J. R. Harbison, og S. Begum (red.) New Challenges to Ageing in the Rural North: A Critical Interdisciplinary Perspective, Cham: Springer International Publishing, side 193–206. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20603-1_12.

  • Næss, A., Fjær, E. G., & Vabø, M. (2016). The assisted presentations of self in nursing home life. Social Science & Medicine, 150, 153–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.12.027.

  • Ness, T. M., Hellzen, O., & Enmarker, I. (2014a). "Embracing the present and fearing the future": The meaning of being an oldest old woman in a rural area. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 9(1), 23088, https://doi.org/10.3402/qhw.v9.25217.

  • Ness, T. M., Hellzen, O., & Enmarker, I. (2014b). "Struggling for independence": The meaning of being an oldest old man in a rural area. Interpretation of oldest old men's narrations. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 9(2014), PMC3925815, https://doi.org/10.3402/qhw.v9.23088.

  • Nicholson, C., Meyer, J., Flatley, M., Holman, C., & Lowton, K. (2012). Living on the margin: Understanding the experience of living and dying with frailty in old age. Social Science & Medicine, 75(8), 1426–1432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.06.011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nolan, M., Ryan, T., Enderby, P., & Reid, D. (2002). Towards a more inclusive vision of dementia care practice and research. Dementia, 1(2), 193–211. https://doi.org/10.1177/147130120200100206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Otnes, B. (2012). Utviklingslinjer i pleie- og omsorgstjenestene. In M. Veenstra & S. O. Daatland (Eds.), Bærekraftig omsorg? Familien, velferdsstaten og aldringen av befolkningen. Oslo: Norsk institutt for forskning om oppvekst, velferd og aldring.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phoenix, C., & Sparkes, A. C. (2009). Being Fred: big stories, small stories and the accomplishment of a positive ageing identity. Qualitative Research, 9(2), 219–236 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1468794108099322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranzijn, R. (2010). Active ageing —Another way to oppress marginalized and disadvantaged elders?: Aboriginal elders as a case study. Journal of Health Psychology, 15(5), 716–723. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105310368181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ray, M. (2013). Critical perspectives on social work with older people. In J. Baars, J. Dohmen, A. Brenier, & C. Phillipson (Eds.), Ageing, meaning and social structure (pp. 139–156). Bristol: Policy Press at the University of Bristol.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, A. N. N. (1997). Beyond Apocalyptic Demography: Towards a Moral Economy of Interdependence. Ageing and Society, 17(4), 425–446.

  • Robinson, I. (1990). Personal narratives, social careers and medical courses: Analysing life trajectories in autobiographies of people with multiple sclerosis. Social Science & Medicine, 30(11), 1173–1186. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(90)90257-S.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowles, G. D., & Bernard, M. (2013). Environmental gerontology : Making meaningful places in old age. New York, NY: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Segal, L. (2013). Out of time : The pleasures and the perils of ageing. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Settersten, R. A., & Angel, J., L. (2011). Trends in the Sociology of Aging: Thirty Years Observations. In Settersten R., & A. J. (Eds.), Handbook of Sociology of Aging. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. New York,: Springer.

  • Sixsmith, J., Sixsmith, A., Fänge, A. M., Naumann, D., Kucsera, C., Tomsone, S., Haak, M., Dahlin-Ivanoff, S., & Woolrych, R. (2014). Healthy ageing and home: The perspectives of very old people in five European countries. Social Science & Medicine, 106 (Supplement C), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.01.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sørbye, L. W., Schanche, P., Sverdrup, S., & Brunborg, B. (2016). Heløgns omsorg - kommunenes dekningsgrad: Færre institusjonsplasser. Mer omfattende hjemmetjenester. Oslo: VID - vitenskapelige høgskole og Agenda Kaupang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taber, N. (2010). Institutional ethnography, autoethnography, and narrative: An argument for incorporating multiple methodologies. Qualitative Research, 10(1), 5–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794109348680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twigg, J. (1997). Deconstructing the ‘social Bath’: Help with bathing at home for older and disabled people. Journal of Social Policy, 26(2), 211–232. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279497004960.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twigg, J., & Buse, C. E. (2013). Dress, dementia and the embodiment of identity. Dementia, 12(3), 326–336. https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301213476504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vabø, M. (2009). Home care in transition: The complex dynamic of competing drivers of change in Norway. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 23(3), 346–358. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777260910966762.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Dyk, S. (2014). The appraisal of difference: Critical gerontology and the active-ageing-paradigm. Journal of Aging Studies, 31, 93–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2014.08.008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Wijngaarden, E., Leget, C., & Goossensen, A. (2015). Ready to give up on life: The lived experience of elderly people who feel life is completed and no longer worth living. Social Science & Medicine, 138, 257–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.05.015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Wijngaarden, E., Leget, C., & Goossensen, A. (2018). Ethical uneasiness and the need for open-ended reflexivity: The case of research into older people with a wish to die. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 21(3), 317–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2017.1399621.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, D., Drahota, A., Gal, D., Severs, M., & Dean, T. P. (2008). Care home versus hospital and own home environments for rehabilitation of older people. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 4. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003164.pub2.

  • White-Chu, E. F., Graves, W. J., Godfrey, S. M., Bonner, A., & Sloane, P. (2009). Beyond the medical model: The culture change revolution in long-term care. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 10(6), 370–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2009.04.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilińska, M. (2012). Is there a place for an ageing subject? Stories of ageing at the University of the Third age in Poland. Sociology, 46(2), 290–305. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038511419179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wray, S. (2003). Women growing older: Agency, ethnicity and culture. Sociology, 37(3), 511–527. https://doi.org/10.1177/00380385030373007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaidi, A., & Howse, K. (2017). The policy discourse of active ageing: Some reflections. Journal of Population Ageing, 10(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-017-9174-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the municipal project partners for their participation in the project. Thanks to Susanne Bygnes and Annelieke Driessen for their valuable comments on earlier versions of this paper. We also thank the research group on innovation and welfare at the Nordland Research Institute.

Funding

This work was supported by The Regional Research Fund Northern Norway [grant number 257019], which is part of The Research Council of Norway. The funding source had no involvement in study design, the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the article for publication.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nordland Research Institute, Box 1490, N-8049, Bodø, Norway

    Helga Eggebø

  2. Department for Child Welfare and Social Work, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Box 6050 Langnes, 9037, Tromsø, Norway

    Mai Camilla Munkejord & Walter Schönfelder

  3. NORCE, Nygårdsgaten 112, 5008, Bergen, Norway

    Mai Camilla Munkejord

Authors
  1. Helga Eggebø
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mai Camilla Munkejord
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Walter Schönfelder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All named authors for the article have made a substantial contribution to the conception, design, analysis and interpretation of data, and to the revision of the article. All authors’ contributions have been critical for important intellectual content and all authors have approved the version to be published.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Helga Eggebø.

Ethics declarations

Statement of Ethical Approval

This study was approved by the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD), reference number 48366. Approval from NSD is the appropriate level of ethical review according to Norwegian law.

Statement of Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Eggebø, H., Munkejord, M.C. & Schönfelder, W. Land, History and People: Older people’s Stories about Meaningful Activities and Social Relations in Later Life. Population Ageing 13, 465–483 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-019-09253-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-019-09253-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation