Strategies of older couples to sustain togetherness

• Published in: Journal of aging studies 2019-03, Vol.48, p.60-66
• Main Authors: Riekkola, Jenni, Rutberg, Stina, Lilja, Margareta, Isaksson, Gunilla
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Adaptation, Psychological; Aged; Arbetsterapi; Female; Fysioterapi; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Male; Narrative; Occupational therapy; Older adults; Participation; Physiotherapy; Relationships; Respite Care; Spouses - psychology; Togetherness
• ISSN: 0890-4065; 1879-193X; 1879-193X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaging.2019.01.005

The aim of this study was to explore how elderly couples, who are in need of social services in the community, act and reason over time regarding their everyday togetherness. Data were generated through repeated interviews and participant observations with three older couples. A narrative method was used for data generation and analysis. The findings present four parallel narratives illustrating how the couples, over time, strove to continue living their lives in togetherness despite the many challenges that had emerged. These narratives show the complexity and variety of strategies that the couples adopted to handle different situations of everyday life and the couples' experiences and feelings connected to these situations. The strategies that the couples used resulted, for example, in performing more activities together in another way, using respite care and reorganizing their social interactions. The spousal caregiver had a leading role to manage day-to-day life and to initiate and perform the strategies. Simultaneously, an important reciprocity existed in their relationship that gave meaning to their efforts of sustaining togetherness. These findings give a deeper understanding of the complexity of their situation and of how meaning is created in their everyday life through enacted togetherness. The findings highlight the need for professionals within social services in the community to embrace a couple's whole situation, involving both partners. •Couples strive to adopt strategies to continue living their lives in togetherness.•Doing things together as a couple can create and sustain togetherness.•Spousal caregivers have a leading role to initiate and perform strategies.•Being in separate contexts requires communication strategies and support by others.•Strategies to support social encounters require attention to their whole situation.