Experiences of Being Tied with Drugs in the Elderly Women in Community

Kim, Jeong Sun

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study was done to understand elderly women within a community who have used lots of drugs. METHOD: Data was collected through in-depth interviews with four elderly women from April 2001 to February 2002. Data was analyzed by Giorgi's phenomenological method(2000). RESULTS: The components in common with drug usage of elderly women were as follows: 'Awareness of the limitation of physical strength and uncertainty of life', 'Dread of a crisis situation occurring', 'Attachment and dependency on drugs', 'Expectation of a comfortable life and death', 'Prevention of family burden', and 'Pursuit of psychological comfort'. The general structure of experiences was as follows: causal factors were 'Awareness of uncertainty and limitation', 'dread of a crisis situation occurring' the results factor was 'Attachment and dependency on drugs' and the facilitating factors were 'Expectation of a comfortable life and death', 'Prevention of family burden', and 'Pursuit of psychological comfort'. The causal relation was cyclic. This structure showed a realistic adaptation pattern. CONCLUSION: This study contributed to provide fundamental data for nursing interventions for health promotion and promoting quality of life in elderly women by increasing understanding of the experiences of drugs use.