Active ageing centres and the quality of life of older adults in the community

Abstract

Literature illustrates that the number of older adults within society is ever increasing. Older adults are also aiming high when it comes to their standards of quality of life. Quality of life is a broad term that may either be experienced in a positive manner or a negative one. In order to be able to live a good quality of life older adults at times become dependent either partially or fully on institutions and individuals. Such care may be derived from three main sources in society; long-term care, community and social support care and active ageing centres. The focal point of this study is to identify the impact that active ageing centres have on the quality of life of older adults. This study investigated whether and how active ageing centres help older adults to continue living safely and independently within the community. The specific research question is: whether and how active ageing centres contribute to the quality of life of older adults in the community. Data was collected by means of a qualitative approach through a descriptive design method. The tool used by the researcher to collect the raw data for this study was semi structured interview consisting mainly of open ended questions. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with two different groups of older adults: those that attend Active Ageing Centres and those who do not utilise this facility. After the interviews took place, interviews were transcribed as soon as possible. A coding system was developed to identify patterns in the participants‟ responses, to organize data and to identify concepts that emerged through these interviews. Thematic analysis was used as the approach to encode and explain qualitative data. Results identified that quality of life has different definitions and meanings for the older adults. Further, older adults consider socialisation as central for good quality of life. The support that the older adults either give or receive is also vital for a good quality of life. It was identified that the older adults value mostly their children, family, spouses and other significant others such as friends and close relatives as fundamental support systems. The final finding of this study is the fact that the prior life experience of the older adults impacts a lot upon the quality of life they live in their later days of life. Their prior experience in terms of work, religion, education and general lifestyle left most impact on their current quality of life. This study highlighted different factors that the older adults themselves see as vital for them to have a good quality of life. Therefore, it is recommended that a similar study on quality of life be carried out among the two other types of care mentioned, also comparing the three types of care. It is also recommended that support given to the informal care givers is enhanced, and that an evaluation of professional standards in caring for older adults is carried out. These actions would offer a further contribution to understanding and improving the quality of life of older adults.