A bioecological exploration of two older women’s aging experiences who reside in Winnie Mandela, Tembisa.
Date
2021
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Abstract
The numbers of people aged 60 years and older have been shown to be on the rise at a global
scale, with Africa being at the forefront of this rise. In declaring 2020-2030 ‘The Decade of
Healthy Ageing’, the World Health Organisation acknowledges that up until now aging has
been neglected in terms of services, structures, research, policy development and
implementation. As a result, there is very little knowledge on how older people experience their
communities and what needs to be done to improve their aging experiences. This study aimed
to address this gap in the research literature. The study used Interpretive Phenomenological
Analysis (IPA) to explore two older people’s aging experiences within the Winnie Mandela
community in Tembisa. The participants were recruited using both purposive and snowball
sampling and semi-structured interviews was used as the method of data collection. The study
design and analysis was informed by Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological framework. The findings
show that an older person’s experiences are the outcome of an interplay between their
biological bodies, social relationships with family, peers, and the larger community, and
various structures within the community in which they are embedded. This intersection
influences the experiences and emotional wellbeing of an older person. Key findings at the
individual level showed that with increasing age, the older person experiences a decline in
bodily functions, which is a reality that is difficult to accept. Despite this decline, older people
showed the desire to still be active participants in their daily lives. The study also showed that
older people develop emotional attachments to their places of residence, mainly because they
provide them with familiarity of place and a sense of belonging. At the relational level,
relationships with family, peers and the community were identified as essential for meeting the
older person’s emotional (a sense of belonging) and daily functional needs. At the contextual
level, neighborhood crime, the church, traditional practices, clinics, and social clubs all
mediated the participants aging experiences.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.