title: Being part of an unfolding story: togetherness in everyday occupations when ageing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to explore and enhance the understanding of how togetherness in everyday occupations is experienced and discussed among older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Focus-group discussions generated the data and a total of 12 participants, including six women and six men, divided into three groups, participated in this study. Analysis was performed using a grounded theory approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The findings reflect how togetherness in everyday occupations can be comprehended as multifold transactional processes, emphasizing how an acted belonging was a situated experience connecting people and places through unfolding stories. The findings suggest that the process of meaning-making in ongoing life was closely associated with togetherness and was negotiated with others through shared culture and experiences. Togetherness meant being part of something in which the persons involved were contributing to each other in various ways. However, being part of togetherness was complicated, especially when the person's life situation was challenged in some way.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was apparent from the analysis that togetherness could not be taken for granted. Rather, the findings reflect how togetherness was created and maintained through an ongoing process of nurturing established relationships as well as creating something new around occupations with others.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Science, Luleå University of Technology , Luleå , Sweden.
authors.forename: Anneli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nyman
authors.forename: Staffan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Josephsson
authors.forename: Gunilla
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Isaksson
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012933:Social Identification; D058992:Social Participation / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: focus-group discussion; grounded theory; meaning; participation; place; transaction