Community Nurses' Experiences Regarding the Meaning and Promotion of Healthy Aging in Northeastern Thailand. (March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Manasatchakun, Pornpun; Choowattanapakorn, Tassana; Roxberg, Åsa; Asp, Margareta
• Is Part Of: Journal of holistic nursing. Volume 36:Number 1(2018:Mar.)
• Page Start: 54
• Page End: 67
• Publication Date: 2018-03
• Subjects: healthy aging -- health promotion -- holistic care -- older people -- person-centeredness -- qualitative research -- Thai nurses; Holistic nursing -- Periodicals; Nursing -- Periodicals; Médecine holistique; 610.73
• DOI: 10.1177/0898010116688126
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0898-0101

Abstract

Purpose: Describe community nurses' experiences regarding the meaning and promotion of healthy aging in northeastern Thailand.Method: Data were collected through five focus group interviews with 36 community nurses in northeastern Thailand. Latent content analysis was conducted to analyze the data.Findings: Healthy aging was characterized by the interconnection of older persons, older persons' family members, and the community. Healthy aging was associated with two themes: "being strong" and "being a supporter and feeling supported." The nurses' experiences in promoting healthy aging were described by the themes "providing health assessment, " "sharing knowledge, " and "having limited resources."Conclusions: The findings of this study provide a deeper understanding of the meaning of healthy aging from a holistic viewpoint. Community nurses must pay attention to older persons and their surroundings when planning how to promote healthy aging. Person-centeredness should be applied in practice to promote healthy aging. The current findings contribute useful information that should help policy makers develop healthy aging strategies in Thailand.