J Korean Acad Nurs.
2006 Dec;36(7):1215-1223.
Experiences of Being Tied with Drugs in the Elderly Women in Community
- Affiliations
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- 1College of Nursing, Chonnam National University, GwangJu, Chonnam, Korea. kjs0114@jnu.ac.kr
Abstract
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PURPOSE: This study was done to understand elderly women within a community who have used lots of drugs.
METHOD: Data was collected through in-depth interviews with four elderly women from April 2001 to February 2002. Data was analyzed by Giorgi's phenomenological method(2000).
RESULTS: The components in common with drug usage of elderly women were as follows: 'Awareness of the limitation of physical strength and uncertainty of life', 'Dread of a crisis situation occurring', 'Attachment and dependency on drugs', 'Expectation of a comfortable life and death', 'Prevention of family burden', and 'Pursuit of psychological comfort'. The general structure of experiences was as follows: causal factors were 'Awareness of uncertainty and limitation', 'dread of a crisis situation occurring' the results factor was 'Attachment and dependency on drugs' and the facilitating factors were 'Expectation of a comfortable life and death', 'Prevention of family burden', and 'Pursuit of psychological comfort'. The causal relation was cyclic. This structure showed a realistic adaptation pattern.
CONCLUSION: This study contributed to provide fundamental data for nursing interventions for health promotion and promoting quality of life in elderly women by increasing understanding of the experiences of drugs use.