Older Adult Interview PDF

Running head: OLDER ADULT INTERVIEW
Older Adult Interview
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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OLDER ADULT INTERVIEW
Introduction of the Interviewee
My Interviewee (Mrs. X) is a 78 years old woman. She is an African American
female who is widowed after 60 years of marriage. Her husband was a war veteran and she
was a housewife. Both her sons lives out of the city and comes to visit her once a month. She
has a maidservant who performs the household activities. She was married at the age 18 and
that preventing her completing higher education. Her financial status is satisfactory as her
receives family pension.
Session 1
Circumstances surrounding the interview
The interview was scheduled at 10 am in the morning, taking the informed consent
from Mrs. X. I also gave her a call the night before the interview in order to provide her a
reminder and she said she is aware of it. Mrs. X opted to conduct the interview at her home
and thus her home was selected as the interview venue. I reached her home at 10 am sharp
and I rang her doorbell. After standing for 10 minutes when no response came from inside
then I rang the bell once again and then a thin voice came, “coming”. After 5 minutes, Mrs. X
opened the door. I found her a tall lean woman with uncombed hair and wearing a pale
housecoat. Although she was holding her walking stick in her hands, she was facing difficulty
in maintaining her body balance. While opening the she said, “Sorry I kept you waiting but
my maidservant is no leave today and due to my knee pain and poor eyesight, my mobility is
restricted”. I said, “Not a problem”. She directed me to the dining room where the interview
is to be scheduled. I found the room disorganized with things loitering here and there. When
Mrs. X settled down in her chair, I started the interview with her consent and switched on the
audio recorded. Through the interview, I found the Mrs. X is facing difficulty in recollecting

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her thoughts and at times her sentences lacked linkage. Her frequently urge to urinate
interrupted the interview process.
Interview for Session 1
Given in the Appendix Section
Interview summary
In the interview summary, I can be highlighted that Mr. X is lonely and she misses her
husband. She also tends to forget things and have several physiological complications. These
prevent her from performing activities of her choice. She is not technologically advanced.
She also suffers from lack of confidence due to her looks and current lifestyle. Talking and
playing with her grandchildren makes her happy.
Integration of concepts
The main concept, which was highlighted in this interview, was aging and loneliness.
According to Courtin and Knapp (2017), loneliness and social isolation results from
numerous adverse health consequences. Steptoe et al. (2013) further stated that loneliness
further increases the vulnerability of poor health conditions. Loneliness affects mobility and
this might be the reason behind the decrease in the motor function of Mrs. X apart from the
obvious reason of dementia. The study conducted by Courtin and Knapp (2017), highlighted
that among the cognitive normal senior citizens who were tested per year, the risk of
developing Alzheimer’s dementia was twice among the lonely elderly adults in comparison to
those who were not lonely. Loneliness cause depression and disrupts the synergy of health
and well-being.

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Another concept which was that can be highlighted from the interview is decline in
life satisfaction with ageing. From the interview, it is clear that Mr. X is unsatisfied with her
life, be it for her looks, her health related conditions, inability to perform daily living
activities or inability to perform her hobbies. The study conducted by Maher and Conroy
(2015) revealed that health and economic conditions are main predictors of life satisfaction.
In case of Mr. X, her health condition was declining but her economic condition was stable.
Her ailing health condition resulted in decline in the level of life satisfaction.
Personal feelings from the interview
It is difficult to say about the relationship and the intimacy status that I have
developed with Mr. X. However, if I was asked to share the impression of my first interview
then I would like to highlight that I felt Sorry for Mrs. X. She was lonely in spite of having a
family. Lack of proper self-care and assistance coming from the family members have
prevented her from aging healthy. Moreover, lack of companionship is the reason behind her
loneliness. The sense of loneliness or feeling alone have decreased her satisfaction in life and
making her more reluctant to take initiatives in healthy living activities. I feel that at some
point of time people will gradually lose their neat and dear ones as human are mortal. But life
goes on and it is our responsibility to take proper self-care to lead to healthy life both
physically and mentally.

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Session 2
Introduction of Interviewee
During the next semester, when I came to visit Mr. X, I found her more fresh and
rejuvenating. She had her hair neatly combed and wearing a nice housecoat. She also greeted
me with a smile offered me snacks. She told her maid helped her to dress for the interview
and she asked her maid to maid snacks for me. I realized that I left a good impression upon
her during my last visit. However, the forgetfulness of Mrs. X was same as before and she
was speaking softly.
Interview Session 2
Given in appendix
Interview Summary
In the summary of the interview, it can be said that childhood of Mrs. X was filled
will abuse, bullying and racisms due to her aboriginal origin. Her constant victimization and
early marriage ceased her marriage in the mid-way. From the summary of the interview, it
can also be said that Mrs. X was a strong women, full with confidence. She single handedly
managed her family during the turmoil like when her husband was sick. She was well known
for her handcrafts. However, as she aged her physical strength decreased and so is her
emotional strength. She lost her self-confidence. She lack concept of healthy aging.
Integration of concepts
The concepts that can be clearly highlighted in this interview include lack of proper
knowledge about healthy ageing. According to Marsman et al. (2018), the majority of the
older adults lack proper knowledge about healthy aging. In case of Mrs. X she has not clear
prospective to keep herself mentally and physically healthy. Marsman et al. (2018) are of the

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opinion that person centered care with focus on the concept of healthy ageing and emphasis
on the need on the intrinsic capacity of an individual is instrumental to healthy aging. Healthy
aging affects mental and physical healthy positively. In relation to healthy aging, Hamer,
Lavoie and Bacon (2014) argued that healthy consumption of nutritional food, performance
to mild to moderate physical activity along with performing hobbies of choice (to overcome
stress) are three principal parameters of healthy aging. However, proper educations to the
older adults are required to be undertaken in order to make them aware about healthy aging.
Hamer, Lavoie and Bacon (2014) emphasized on manual assistance in order to help the older
adults to take comprehensive steps in healthy ageing. Marciniak et al., (2014) stated that daily
meditation helps in the promotion of the cognitive function, which help in healthy aging.
Another concept, which evolved from the interview, includes increase in spiritual
thoughts among the older adults. This similar concept was reflected in the experts of
interview of Mrs. X. She stated that her physical and her emotional strength have decreased
but her spiritual mindset has again a new in sight during the course of time. According to
Shukla (2015), aging is a part of natural life cycle of every human being. According to the
theory of gerontology, the concept of positive aging deals with disease prevention, mental
wellness in order to increase the quality of life. Prevention of occurrence of the disease
among the older adults is somewhat complicated as the physical health becomes immune-
compromised. Thus, the older adults concentrate over the mental well-being and this
achieved through increase in the sense of spiritual thoughts. Dick (2014) further stated that
spirituality has both direct and indirect influence over the physical and mental well-being.
Understanding the individual’s perspective from the spiritual point of view is important,
given under the context of issues of loss, physical illness and sense of mortality confronted
among the older adults.

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Personal feelings from the interview
My impression from the interview is, when Mrs. X was young, she did not pay a heed
to her own health and own choices. Her sole life revolved our family. She constantly made
efforts so that her family members lead a healthy life, be it her husband or her sons. Thinking
about her family, made her so busy that she could not make time for her now career. This a
common scenario for the majority of the homemakers. The interview also revealed that her
spiritual sense has increased during the course of aging but her physical and emotional well-
being decreased gradually. She no suffers from lack of confidence. Mrs. X also lack proper
knowledge about healthy aging. From the perspective of the relationship about the
interviewee, I would like to comment that she is more friendly with me now. She greeted me
with welcoming note and also arranged snacks for me. My active participation in the
interview process helped in the development of therapeutic relationship with Mrs. X. I can
related with the interview because, I have seen how my mother has scarified her own self in
order to make us happy.
Session 3
In the third visit, I found that Mrs. X was more disorganized than before. Her son was
present that day and told that prognosis of dementia of her mother has increased. He also
requested not to take much time, as she might feel unwell.
Interview Session 2
Given in appendix
Interview Summary
In the interview summary, it can be highlighted that Mr. X tends to forget majority of
the events in the disease progression. She also revealed that she has experienced racism while

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accessing care in the hospital and for her managing compassion fatigue is effective for the
healthcare professionals in order to overcome stress and burnout. She also highlighted doing
good and thinking good is wisdom of life.
Integration of concepts
Racism among the Aboriginals while seeking care is the first concept, which gained
prominence in the interview. According to Herring et al. (2013), intersection of trauma,
racism, and lack of cultural competence increases a sense of negativity among the Aboriginal
populations. This restricts them in accessing comprehensive care and thereby increasing the
instances of health inequality. However, this was not the case of Mrs. X but she was sad,
depressed and dishearten while victimized for her skin color. Paradies et al. (2015) stated that
being victimized for skin color or racism hampers the mental health well-being.
The second concept that can be extracted from the experts of the interview is lack of
proper knowledge about their self-health status by the older adults. Chatterji et al. (2015)
stated that the older adults become indifferent to life and its way of progression. This loss of
interest in life decreases their sense of self-awareness. They are not aware about their health
conditions and the medicines that they are taking and why they are taking. This gap in
knowledge about the current health status creates a barrier towards healthy aging. However,
in case Mrs. X this gap in knowledge is not solely due to lack of interest. It is also due to her
demented health condition. According to Lin et al. (2013) older adults who are above 65
years of age suffer mostly from memory loss arising out of dementia. Since, dementia is a
progressive disease, the prognosis of the disease become worse with age leading to severe
loss of memory and other neuro-degeneration.

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Personal feelings from the interview
I can related with the health condition of Mrs. X. It is her dementia which is making
her forget most of the important events in her life. However, I also feel that her sons needs to
be more careful for their mother as rightly mentioned by Mrs. X, she no needs a 24X7 care
and supported living.
Personal reflection
Indulging with discussion with Mrs. X, caused a change in my perception of the aging
process of the older adults. I came down to realization that the older adults are less aware of
the status of healthy aging. They are mainly lonely as their wards are busy with their life and
occupation. They lonely life and lack of proper socialization further complicates the process
of healthy aging and overall health condition. A constant support coming from family and
heath care checkup will help to overcome this scenario.
I think older adults are nor similar to us because their level of spiritual beliefs are
higher than us. However, they lack confidence in their emotional well-being and physical
well-being. I mainly work on my will power and I am quite confident about my physical
health. In the spiritual context, I have vague image. I think as we age, our level of confidence
differs; I might also end up getting spiritual.
I felt sorry for her. I found her disorganized and ill maintained. Her sentences are at
times were disorganized and she kept on forgetting things which prevented from making the
interview more informative.
I could have conducted the interview in the presence of her sons. It would might make
her feel more secure, safe and confident and this would help to get some more information of

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the aging process which would be informative for interview. Moreover, the presence of her
sons might have helped me to view some of her old pictures.
I wished, I could have asked about more about her skills like weaving and stitching. It
would help me get an idea how creative she is. Her nursing skills are something I might have
explored along with her perspective of cultural competency. This might have helped me to
get an idea about her views in cultural safety and competency in nursing.
The most important thing I learnt about the interview is that speaking softly and
slowly with the older adults is more effective. It helps the older adults in understanding your
questions and answering it accordingly. I also learnt that active listening with maintenance of
eye contact helped in the generation of therapeutic relationships with the interviewee.
From my experience from the interview, I would like to stated that as I aged, I will
make up for my me time, time for my hobbies and time for my socialization. This will not
make me feel lonely. I will also abide by mild to moderate physical activity and healthy
eating. These two parameters are core to healthy aging. I will avail assisted living the
moment I will loose confidence in myself. Staying in assisted living with others will make me
feel more secure and will help to reduce loneliness.

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References
Chatterji, S., Byles, J., Cutler, D., Seeman, T., & Verdes, E. (2015). Health, functioning, and
disability in older adults—present status and future implications. The
lancet, 385(9967), 563-575.
Courtin, E., & Knapp, M. (2017). Social isolation, loneliness and health in old age: a scoping
review. Health & social care in the community, 25(3), 799-812.
Dick, H. V. (2014). “Every Time You Deal With a Death You Think,‘One Day’…”: The
Emotional and Spiritual Effects of Dealing With Aging, Dying, and Death for Staff in
a Residential Aged Care Facility. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 26(2-3),
173-185.
Hamer, M., Lavoie, K. L., & Bacon, S. L. (2014). Taking up physical activity in later life and
healthy ageing: the English longitudinal study of ageing. Br J Sports Med, 48(3), 239-
243.
Herring, S., Spangaro, J., Lauw, M., & McNamara, L. (2013). The intersection of trauma,
racism, and cultural competence in effective work with aboriginal people: Waiting for
trust. Australian Social Work, 66(1), 104-117.
Lin, F. R., Yaffe, K., Xia, J., Xue, Q. L., Harris, T. B., Purchase-Helzner, E., ... & Health
ABC Study Group, F. (2013). Hearing loss and cognitive decline in older
adults. JAMA internal medicine, 173(4), 293-299.
Maher, J. P., & Conroy, D. E. (2015). Daily life satisfaction in older adults as a function of
(in) activity. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social
Sciences, 72(4), 593-602.

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Marciniak, R., Sheardova, K., Čermáková, P., Hudeček, D., Šumec, R., & Hort, J. (2014).
Effect of meditation on cognitive functions in context of aging and neurodegenerative
diseases. Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 8, 17.
Marsman, D., Belsky, D. W., Gregori, D., Johnson, M. A., Dog, T. L., Meydani, S., ... &
Griffiths, J. C. (2018). Healthy ageing: the natural consequences of good nutrition—a
conference report. European Journal of Nutrition, 1-20.
Paradies, Y., Ben, J., Denson, N., Elias, A., Priest, N., Pieterse, A., ... & Gee, G. (2015).
Racism as a determinant of health: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS
one, 10(9), e0138511.
Shukla, P. (2015). Spirituality and positive view of ageing in modern society. Indian Journal
of Positive Psychology, 6(1), 122.
Steptoe, A., Shankar, A., Demakakos, P., & Wardle, J. (2013). Social isolation, loneliness,
and all-cause mortality in older men and women. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, 110(15), 5797-5801.

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Appendix
Session 1 Interview
1. What has been the best age of your life, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, or now?
For me the best age in My Life was my 20s. I got married at the age of 18 then at the
age of 20 I had my first son and then at the age of 25 I had my second son. I know I as bit too
young to conceive but I was happy. I looked fit and young and I lead a happy life with my
two sons. Though I had an impending thought for my husband in the war field but during his
holidays we used to have a lot of fun and went on to visits many new places. Life was fun
that time. I was busy with my children studies and household activities but I was happy.
2. How satisfied are you with your life right now on a scale from 1 to 10?
Satisfied is a big term. However, since you have asked I will say I will rate 5 out of
10. I will also tell you the reason. The reason behind this is, I feel alone and lonely. My
husband passed way and both of my sons need to stay out due to occupational requirement, I
have no-one to talk, discuss my feelings and concerns. Though my sons come to meet me
once a month, I do not share my difficulties with them, I do not want to be a burden over
them. Then again there are my physical complications, doctor says that I have dementia and
during cold, I suffer from pneumonia that becomes debilitating from me. I am unable to get
up from bed and I need to survive on the mercy of my maid. I think now it is the time that
god must take me where my beloved husband is. Then I think, I am still surviving at this age
just because of the will of god and I must respect Almighty’s decision and live my life.
3. What is the best part of being your age?

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There is nothing best in gaining. I am now detached from my friends. I can hardly go
out of my house and perform my daily living activities. I look old and ugly. I tend to forget
things and my body is the den of different kind of diseases. I never lead a healthy live during
my young age and thus my aging is also not healthy. But when we se the faces for your
grandchildren, I feel some is worth living. If you say, that is the best part of aging.
4. What things have you had to stop doing or change how you do them because of your
age?
There are many things. I cannot not cook. I need to thrive on ready to eat food which
is tasteless. Due to my poor eyesight I can’t indulge in stitching and weaving of woollen
garments. I use to have weekly day out with my friendly in my colony but majority of them
are as sick as I am and 30% of them have passed away. I feel lonely and alone. And I also
think.......................... Sorry I forgot what I was planning to say.
5. Rate how comfortable you are with your body and the way you look on a scale from 1 to
10. Explain reasons for this rating.
At this age you are asking me to rate my looks, funny isn’t it. Well I will rate myself
3. I think haven’t aged gracefully. All my hair are grey now, there is no one to colour my
hair. All my teeth are gone and skin looks shaggy. I can’t wear my favourite clothes as they
do not fit me anyone. Due to Type-2 Diabetes, I have lost significant amount of weight and
my face looks malnourished.
6. There have been so many historical changes and new inventions. Please tell me how it
was different when you were growing up vs. now. (Offer cues like electricity, water, TV,
cars, Internet.)

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Time has changed. When I was young I used to wait for a single letter from my
husband when he used to go to war-front. But now there is internet. You can contact anyone
so easily. My sons say that there is a think called video calling but as you know at my age, I
am not technologically comfortable. I am more satisfied with my land phone. Television is
however my addiction. It is my friend and companion though my love for radio is still on.
7. What kind of things and activities do you enjoy doing?
I enjoy playing with my grand children and taking with my sons and my daughter in
law. I also love watching TV. My love for gardening is still on but my health does not permit
it any more.
8. What do you watch in TV?
I watch anything that plays on TV, I need to kill my time.
9. Can you show us few of your family pictures?
Yes I can, but I don’t remember where they are. I keep on forgetting things you know.
10. Do you miss your husband?
Yes I do, every second I miss him. And............. sorry I do not remember what I was
trying to say.

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Session 2 Interview
Hello Mrs. X, hope you are doing well. I found you fresh and rejuvenated in
comparison to the last day I saw you. So today is your second round of interview session. I
am glad that you are tolerating me. I won’t waste much of your time speaking nonsense, let
starts. Today, I would like known about you family and work life.
1. Today can you show me some your pictures during your younger days?
O right you have asked previous day also, but I am sorry son, I have forgot
completely and moreover, I don’t remember where I have kept those images. We have some
lovely images of your family outing with my husband and my two sons. At that time was
look beautify, not like this like you are watching me today.
2. How do you think you have changed over time? Physically? Emotionally? Spiritually?
As the time pass, life changes and so the individual’s personality and for me it was no
difference. Over time I am getting more physically and emotionally weak and getting more
physical. I cannot walk or roam around my house without this walker. Two consecutive
strokes and osteoarthritis had made me dependent on this walking stick. Then again I have
dementia, which forces me to keep on forgetting things. Emotionally I am fragile now, after
my husband passed away, I became emotionally weak. I cannot perform my daily living
activities all by myself. Every now and then I need to seek help from my maid, be it going to
washroom or getting down from bed. It makes me feel bad, I feel like crying. Spiritually I
would say that, my spiritual thoughts and sense of mind have increased. I have no one to
share my feelings apart from Jesus. I pray twice and at times thrice a week.
3. Describe your family life growing up

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I was married at an early age, at an age of 18. My childhood memories mainly include
traumatic memories of racism and social discrimination. I am an African America by birth
and due to my darker skin tone I used get bullied in schools. That is the another reason why I
hate going schools and my study remained unfinished in the mid-way. After marriage things
got changed. The perspective of the society towards me changed. This might be due to the
prestigious job of my husband. Both my sons were fortunate enough as they did not faced the
social discrimination and bullying which I experienced while at school. They were good in
studies. Due to the busy work-life of my husband, we did not get the time for travelling every
year but we had an eventful life. I was good at cooking and when my husband used to come, I
used to charm him with innovative dishes. I used to do gardening; my backyard was filled
with Lilies, Sunflowers and Orchids. I was also known in my colony due my innovative
crochet designs and weaving of my woolen garments.
4. What did you observe about your parents growing older when you were young? What
were your perceptions about aging as a child?
I did not use to visit my parents quite often. But whenever I used to go my maternal
home, I saw my parents happy. Both my brothers used to stay with my parents along with
their family. During child, my concept of ageing was “life in which you won’t need to study
and work, just relax and have quality time.
5. Describe your “adult” life, such as family life as you were raising your children (if he or
she has children or if he or she doesn’t have children, ask about his or her life as an adult
until retirement.)
While I was raising my children, I did not have a me-time. All my attention was for
my two sons, what they will eat, their studies and their health. Since my husband majorly
stayed out of station, I used to do the majority of the work, both indoors and outdoors along

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with paying the bills and doing the groceries. At one point of time, dragging heavy load of
groceries every week, invited in neck and back pain and this troubles me even today. My
excessive addiction towards stitching and weaving hampered my eye sight. Though it was
hectic, still I was happy.
6. What is it like to have grandchildren (or not to have grandchildren)?
Having grandchildren is something very overwhelming. I revisited my childhood with
them. I love to spend time with them as I told you earlier.
7. Describe your experiences with work life. Do/did you enjoy your job/profession? (If the
person did not work outside the home – ask if he or she wanted to or to describe his or her
“job” and family caretaker at home. Or, how do/did he or she manage both a job outside
the home and raising a family-particularly for women
I was a house-wife. My role as a house wife was very hectic as I mentioned you right
now my busy schedule used to keep me engage, there was no time for boredom.
8. What kinds of things have helped you overcome problems and stresses in your life?
My faith in myself and my stamina has helped me to overcome my problems and my
stress in life. Just before the retirement, my husband became critically-ill. He came back from
the war-front. His leg suffered from frost bite and he was unable to move. A single handedly
took care of my children, managed the household and performed all the nursing activities by
myself. At present I lack confidence and this might be due to my ill-health.
9. What kinds of things do you do right now to keep mentally sharp and physically healthy?
I don’t know what I should need to do in order to keep myself fit
10. Do you think that your life was more happening then present life?

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Yes I think
11. You said you nursed your husband alone, do you had any formal nursing training?
No but my mother was a nurse, an aboriginal nurse, I learnt from her
12. Why did not you pursue your career in nursing?
I did not get time; I become involved in my married life.

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Interview Session 3
Hello Mrs. X we are meeting for the third and the final time. Today we will discuss about
chronic illness and well-being along with planning for future care.
1. Tell me about your health
If I stated telling about my health then it taken an entire week. My body is a den of
numerous diseases. I am a patient of dementia, I have cardiovascular disease and then I have
osteoarthritis. But please don’t ask me when I have developed these diseases as I keep on
forgetting things. Though doctor says that I am in my initial stage of dementia but it is taking
a toll on my memory.
2. How did your illness first come to your attention? What made you seek help for the
problem? How were you diagnosed with the illness?
Actually I don’t know. One day I felt unconscious, I opened my eyes at hospital and
doctors told me that I had a cardiac arrest. I don’t remember the time. My sons tell me that I
have encountered stroke twice, but I don’t remember. I only have memory of one cardiac
arrest. I have osteoarthritis after my menopause but I don’t remember how was it detected.
However, I am on constant medication and undergo blood test twice a month. Doctor’s also
tell me to conduct blood sugar test. I think I have Type-2 Diabetes too.
3. What were your initial feelings, thoughts and reactions?
I don’t remember about my initial feelings. But at present at feel very depressed as I
think there is no meaning of leading a life this way. I feel depressed and I hate taking so
much of medicines. I used to love deserts and now I cannot have my favorite dish. It makes
me more sad.

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4. How do you make “sense” of the illness?
For me illness makes no sense. I leave at the mercy of others that’s all I need to ay. My sons
also have no time for me. They are busy with their work which is one way normal why they
should waste their time on me.
5. Describe how you cope with the illness on a daily basis.
I pray to Jesus and that gives me strength to tolerate my life. My maid give me medicines
before and after meal but I don’t know their names
6. What do you think is the impact of the illness (and related issues i.e. course of illness,
treatment, etc.) on work and career plans, family life, social relationships…?
Yes, my illness has affected my social life. I cannot go out for gardening. I cannot socialize
with my friends.
7. Do you believe your age has impacted your experiences with this illness? If so, how?
I don’t know. May be yes. I have become more negative and is more hopeless.
8. Describe some of your experiences with health care system, including specific
interactions with health care providers. Do you believe you experienced ageism (racism,
sexism) in any of the interactions?
Yes. Once I was victim of racism and it recalled my childhood memories. I don’t remember
why I was admitted to hospital but I found the healthcare professionals chattering “look at
hers skin tone”. It made me feel bad once again after so many days.
9. What health services were most useful? Are there any services that were needed that
were not made available? If you had a negative experience, what could have been done to
change the situation?

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The most useful healthcare service is mental health counseling. My family made me available
all the healthcare service which I need. Once I receive a negative experience which I
highlighted before and I think proper cultural competence among the healthcare professionals
will help to overcome this problem
10. Ask about beliefs about the future as they age and cope with their illness
Just pray and rely to Jesus.
11. Is there anything that you think you could have done when you were younger to
improve your health now?
Restriction in the consumption of deserts might have helped me to prevent diabetes.
12. What are your plans for future care if you are unable to take care of yourself and/or
live independently? Will you choose long-term care? For example, assisted living, family
caregivers, hospice, and/or a nursing home?
I am planning to avail assisted living taking. My maid works and leaves at evening. At night I
a all alone. Hence assisted living will make me feel more safe and secured. Gradually my
mobility is also decreasing so I need help for daily living activities.
13. Do you have an advance directive? If not, have you thought about doing an advance
directive or living will?
No I haven’t thought about it before. I am not aware about this concept. This is something
new
14. Are you now or have you ever been a caregiver for someone with a chronic/terminal
illness? For whom did you provide care? Please tell me about this experience? What advice
might you have for caregivers in a similar situation?

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OLDER ADULT INTERVIEW
Yes. For my husband as I told you before I think. Giving care is associated with burn out and
compassion fatigue but dedication towards the patient and self-motivation will help to
overcome these feelings.
15. What is some “wisdom” about living life that you want to share with me?
I think wisdom for life is do good and think good.
16. Is anything he/she would like to add and the experience of getting older?
No

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OLDER ADULT INTERVIEW