Women's experience of ageing with a chronic condition.
OBJECTIVE
This paper is a report of a study to explore the experiences of 'almost old' women as they grow older while living with a chronic condition.


BACKGROUND
Little is known about the contextual effects of ageing and how it shapes and is shaped by a woman's chronic illness experience. Nurses' understanding of this phenomenon can have positive effects on how their client accesses and responds to healthcare.


METHODS
Seven women aged between 50 and 58 years participated in this interpretive descriptive study that explored the issues of ageing with a chronic condition. Three focus groups were held between March 2003 and March 2004. Transcriptions were analyzed after each focus group. Participants were given the opportunity to respond to the findings as the analysis progressed.


RESULTS
The experience of living with a chronic illness foreshadowed what was to come with ageing and embodied the ageing process: it was just part of their lives. Alongside this, the women now felt less out of place. Their peers were catching up and beginning to experience aspects of participants' everyday reality. The women, however, experienced double jeopardy because ageing amplified the ongoing vulnerabilities of living with a chronic condition.


CONCLUSIONS
Nurses who recognize the resourcefulness and expertise of women who live with a chronic condition can effectively be co-strategists in their helping them to age well.
Giddings
Lynne S
LS
School of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, Aotearoa, New Zealand. lynne.giddings@aut.ac.nz
Roy
Dianne E
DE
Predeger
Elizabeth
E
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D016387:Women's Health