Negotiating meaning – the experience of community aged care
| Pages | 10-20 |
| Date | 13 February 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-09-2016-0020 |
| Published date | 13 February 2017 |
| Author | Susanna Doyle |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Adult protection,Safeguarding,Sociology,Sociology of the family,Abuse |
Negotiating meaning –the experience
of community aged care
Susanna Doyle
Abstract
Purpose –A framework for achieving what Heidegger referred to as a “fusion of horizons”of understanding,
was developed during a study into the experience of a group of older adults receiving care. The paper aims
to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach –The interpretive hermeneutic phenomenological methodology provided
strategies for enabling a researcher to shift his or her understanding to be closer to that of the older adult
receiving care, to better understand the experience of receiving care from the perspective of a recipient. Older
adults participated in research exploring their everyday livedexperiences, and contributed to the researcher’s
understanding of the personal impact of care.
Findings –The older adults in this study perceived care in essentially relational terms, and raised the
importance of maintaining personal autonomy and relationships as central to maintain meaning in daily life.
This framework for successfully achieving a “fusion of horizons”during research is discussed and proposed
as a potential strategy for also supporting active participation by adults in their own care provision.
Originality/value –This strategy might be used as a way of enhancing the engagement, safety and
satisfaction of older adults, thereby also assisting to protect them from potentially negative influences of
power differentials impacting on their care experience.
Keywords Participation, Engagement, Safeguarding, Aged care, Interpretive hermeneutic phenomenology,
Negotiating meaning
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
It has been recognized in current literature that Australia’s population is ageing and older
people are increas ingly choosing to continue to liv e in the community in their own homes f or as
long as possible, w ith greater numbe rs requiring comm unity services fo r longer periods.
Despite this, ther e is little informat ion available in the lit erature on the self -perceived needs o f
older people, and factors impacting on their experience of care from their perspective
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011; Bastiaens et al., 2007). Qualitative research
methodologies, such as interpretive hermeneutic phenomenology, present a unique
opportunity for de veloping in-dept h understanding of t he everyday exper iences of older
people receiving c are in the communi ty.
Care needs of older people
Older people themselves believe the factors that are the most important to their quality of life are:
participating in meaningful activity; recognizing the importance of one’s home and surroundings;
acknowledging the importance of family and relationships, maintaining health, an adequate
standard of living and expressing one’s spirituality (Grewal et al., 2006; Bryant et al., 2002).
A number of studies have acknowledged the significance of maintaining one’s social network
and contact with others who are considered important by an older person (Edelbrock et al.,
2001; Feldman et al., 2002). Perceived control and an optimistic outlook are also key factors in
an older person’s subjective quality of life (Bryant et al., 2002).
Received 2 September 2016
Revised 8 January 2017
16 January 2017
Accepted 18 January 2017
Susanna Doyle is a Principal
Project Officer at the Office of
the Chief Psychiatrist, Mental
Health Alcohol and Other Drugs
Branch, Queensland Health,
Brisbane, Australia.
PAG E 10
j
THE JOURNAL OF ADULT PROTECTION
j
VOL. 19 NO. 1 2017, pp. 10-20, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1466-8203 DOI 10.1108/JAP-09-2016-0020
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