[The life of elderly women living alone].
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to uncover the fundamental nature of living alone in female elderly.


METHODS
The phenomenological research approach developed by van Manen was adopted.


RESULTS
The theme was 'taking a firm stand alone on the edges of life'. The composition elements of living alone experienced by elderly women were as follows: 1) Corporeality: participants perceived their bodies by their health status. Unhealthy participants were suffering with diseases and dependant on other persons, while healthy participants were free from family responsibility and kept on moving. 2) Spatiality: participants felt both freedom and loneliness while they stayed home. 3) Relationality: participants felt pity and yearning for their bereaved husband and sometimes talked to his picture. According to their children's filial piety, participants were pleased or displeased. However, they incessantly devoted themselves to their children. 4) Temporality: participants considered the rest of their life as extra-time which was proceeding to death, and tried to keep themselves busy before they died.


CONCLUSIONS
A nurse should understand the multifarious aspects of elderly women's life, and then intervene to consolidate their strengths for self-supporting the final years of life.
Kim
Chunmi
C
Department of Nursing, Yeojoo Institute of Technology, Yeoju-eup, Yeoju-gun, Korea. cmchoi@chollian.net
Ko
Moon Hee
MH
Kim
Moon Jeong
MJ
Kim
Joohyun
J
Kim
Hee Ja
HJ
Moon
Jin Ha
JH
Baek
Kyoung Seon
KS
Son
Haeng-Mi
HM
Oh
SangEun
S
Lee
YoungAe
Y
Choi
Jung-Sook
JS
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001293:Attitude to Death; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008019:Life Style; D008132:Loneliness; D011788:Quality of Life; D017805:Widowhood / Q000523:psychology*