I survived. Thanks to my daughter: a study of elderly women's experience in hospital

• Main Author: Freeman, Amy
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Older women > Hospital care > Evaluation > Case studies.
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/10221

This research examined how the needs of elderly women are being met in the hospital setting. Qualitative data were gathered through in-depth interviews with eleven women between the ages of 70 and 93 who had had a hospital stay in the previous year. Data analysis revealed that the system failed to attend to participants' age specific needs. This failure created gaps in care which were particularly troubling for elderly female patients whose frailty made them susceptible to additional health problems. Participants received inadequate care in such areas as bathing, walking assistance and help with eating. Hearing impairments and denture issues were at times overlooked. These gaps in care caused participants to view a hospital stay as a matter of survival. Participants developed strategies to cope with gaps in care which included lowering their expectations, developing support networks and relying on family members to meet their basic needs and advocate on their behalf. Recommendations for change include identifying elderly women as a vulnerable patient population and defining the problems they face as structural issues as opposed to individual problems.