Journal article
Getting Back to Normal: A Grounded Theory Study of Function in Post-hospitalized Older Adults
The Gerontologist, Vol.60(4), pp.704-714
05/15/2020
DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnz057
PMCID: PMC7228418
PMID: 31087040
Abstract
Background and Objectives The literature on transitions after hospitalization is based on a medicalized model focusing primarily on medication management and readmission, but little is known about the process older adults engage in to maintain their normal life posthealth event or how older adults define what the transition is. This grounded theory study aimed to describe how older adults understand and define a transition process, what actions they take based on their understanding, and what consequences they experience as they transition. Research Design and Methods Adults aged 65 and older discharged from a large Midwestern teaching hospital (N = 14) were interviewed using in-depth one-on-one interviews. Data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. Results All participants described the process of transition as moving from a state of normal function to loss, and then working back to a normal state. A conceptual model was developed to illustrate the complexity of movement related to how older adults understand and manage the transition. All participants described starting out being normal until they experienced a major health event (acute or chronic illness). Losing normal involved experiencing a lower level of function both inside and outside the home. Working back to normal was accomplished by two different pathways: those "working to regain" focused on getting back to the level they were at prior to the major health event, whereas those "working to maintain" often involved redefining a new normal. The consequences of the two pathways were quite different, with those working to maintain describing several negative consequences. Discussion and Implications This study provides a detailed understanding of how older adults transition and the complexity of that transition. Findings provide a foundation for broadening our understanding of function beyond typical activities of daily living and reveal a more complex transition process that can span months to years.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Getting Back to Normal: A Grounded Theory Study of Function in Post-hospitalized Older Adults
- Creators
- Daniel Liebzeit - University of Wisconsin–MadisonLisa Bratzke - University of Wisconsin–MadisonMarie Boltz - Pennsylvania State UniversitySuzanne Purvis - Beaumont HealthBarbara King - University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Gerontologist, Vol.60(4), pp.704-714
- Publisher
- Oxford Univ Press
- DOI
- 10.1093/geront/gnz057
- PMID
- 31087040
- PMCID
- PMC7228418
- ISSN
- 0016-9013
- eISSN
- 1758-5341
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin Madison OAA Advanced Fellowship in Geriatrics (William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI) F31NR017104 / National Institute of Nursing Research of the National Institutes of Health; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 05/15/2020
- Academic Unit
- Nursing
- Record Identifier
- 9984370751902771
Metrics
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