Mental well-being and its determinants among the oldest old

• Published in: Journal of psychosomatic research 2018-06, Vol.109, p.113-114
• Main Authors: Lara, E., Martín-María, N., Ådnanes, M., Amaddeo, F., Cresswell-Smith, J., Donisi, V., Forsman, A., Grigoletti, L., Halvorsen, T., Kalseth, J., Kaasbøll, J., Nyholm, L., Melby, L., Nordmyr, J., Rabbi, L., Wahlbeck, K., Miret, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Children; Community centers; Content analysis; Day care centers; Ethics; Grandchildren; Health status; Mental disorders; Mental health; Nursing homes; Oldest old people; Optimism; Personal development; Public health; Purpose in life; Qualitative research; Quality of life; Sleep; Social factors; Social relations; Very old; Well being
• ISSN: 0022-3999; 1879-1360
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.03.086

Aims: To elucidate the determinants of mental wellbeing among the oldest old in four European countries. Methods: The qualitative study used participatory focus groups (FG) including participants belonging to the age category oldest old (i.e. 80 plus). Participants were recruited from senior community centres, adult day care centres and nursing homes in Finland, Italy, Norway and Spain. Sites were carefully selected in order to obtain a broad representation of participants with different levels of functioning. FGs were carried out from April 2017 to January 2018. Ethical approvals were obtained from the local ethics research review committees. All FGs were audiotaped. transcribed verbatim and translated from the national languages into English. Analysis of the transcripts was conducted following the "content analysis" approach using Nvivo software. Results: In total, 24 FGs were performed involving 121 participants (mean age 85.7; 73.6% females). The participants' perspectives of mental well-being were classified into four main themes: health, social aspects, personal factors and external factors. All participants were unanimous about considering physical health as an essential requirement for mental well-being (being free from illness, staying independent, and having a restful sleep, among others). Respondents largely emphasized the important role of social aspects: having a close and frequent relationship with children and grandchildren was highlighted as necessity for their mental well-being. Communication, support or shared experiences were also seen to add value for mental well-being. Regarding personal aspects, being active emerged as the main topic. Respondents talked about engagement in many activities (keeping busy) together with personal development (purpose in life, help others, etc.) and attitude (optimism).Some external factors such as peaceful environment, care assistance and financial security were also highlighted. Conclusion: Our findings revealed that being healthy, having significant social relationships and engaging in productive and inspiring activities are considered by the oldest old as determinants of their mental well-being.