title: A phenomenological study on resilience of the elderly suffering from chronic disease: a qualitative study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Resilience is a key factor in improving health and attenuating problems caused by chronic diseases in the elderly. Having a clear understanding of its meaning in a specific population can be of great help in taking efficient steps toward better health services. Given the lack of information in this regard, the aim of this study was to understand the meaning of resilience for hospitalized older people who experience chronic conditions.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was carried out as a qualitative work based on a descriptive phenomenological approach. The participants were selected purposefully, so that 22 elderly with chronic disease were interviewed in 24 sessions. The collected data were recorded and analyzed through Colaizzi's method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four themes were extracted from the interviews as follows: 1) "meaning of resilience in the participants' experiences" with subthemes of "the art of overcoming pain and suffering", "adapt to health problem of senescence", "accepting life with the chronic disease", and "patience and trust in God"; 2) "growth context as a prologue of resilience" with subthemes of "growth background"; 3) "external factors contributing to resilience" with subthemes of "welfare", "received support", "deprivation and shortage", and "attitudes toward an elderly with health problem"; and 4) "personal factors to overcome illness" with subthemes of "enthusiasm for following up the treatment program", "aversion to physical dependence", "hope for improvement", "motivation and purpose", and "being content with one's belongings and blessings".
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Improvement in resilience is associated with a patient-oriented approach. Providers of health services might make proper interventions based on unique needs of patients to improve their resilience and ability to overcome health problems. This can be performed by family members, health team, and related organizations and bodies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Parkhide
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hassani
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, International Branch of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh-Sadat
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Izadi-Avanji
authors.affiliation: Community Based Psychiatric Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahnaz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rakhshan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Facility of Paramedical, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamid Alavi
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Majd
keywords: aged; chronic disease; qualitative studies; resilience