Abstract
What is the meaning of active ageing in the daily life of frail older people in need of comprehensive home-based care services? This chapter addresses this question using in-depth interviews with women and men aged 70–97 in Northern Norway. The chapter illustrates first, that some older women and men actually prefer to age actively within their home by doing activities such as reading books, solving Sudoku, watching TV and watching birds at the bird feeder. Second, it illustrates the key role potentially played by the next of kin in helping older relatives with different practical issues that may have major impacts on their social well-being. Third, we provide evidence for the limits of public care services in supporting older people with no or few relatives who, also when they become frail, still desire to engage in activities and meetings outside of their homes.
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Notes
- 1.
By frail, we mean ‘weak, infirm and in need of regular care’.
- 2.
The project is financed by the Regional Research Programme of Northern Norway (RFF Nord) for a period of 3 years (2016–2019), project number 257019.
- 3.
Additionally, as part of the larger study, we also interviewed some younger relatives, employees of the municipal home-care service, leaders of the care services, and representatives from the voluntary sector who were involved in organising meeting places and activities aimed at retirees in the two municipalities . These other interviews are not directly referred to in this chapter, but their data constitute relevant background against which the voices of our participants have been analysed.
- 4.
This last citation «Whenever they [the home carers] are here to help me wash and dress…” is also used in the article Eggebø, Helga; MC Munkejord and W Schönfelder: “Who we are and what we need: Older people’s stories about meaningful activities and social relations in later life”. In review in Journal of Aging Studies.
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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. In: Naskali, P., Harbison, J., Begum, S. (eds) New Challenges to Ageing in the Rural North. International Perspectives on Aging, vol 22. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20603-1_12
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