Qualitative Enquiry into Perception of Old Age Among Elderly

A Comparative Study

Abstract

The present study deals with the lives of elderly population and aims to gain an understanding of the perception and conceptualization of old age among them, as to how they perceive their life to be. To achieve this aim, the study was done among two groups of elderly, divided on the basis of their living setup, i.e., one living in their homes and others in religious ashrams. The data was collected using 16 individual interviews from the participants and thematic analysis was applied to generate themes. The result shows that majorly, both the group of participants defined old age in terms of age as a period of health decline both physically and mentally and with changes in appearance that comes with age. Secondly, both group of participants perceived this age in terms of declining social bonds. Lastly, participants differentiated in their outlook towards the old age. Elderly living in ashrams were positive and have showed to attain spiritual experiences whereas, the ones living alone showed negative approach and found old age to be the results of past wrong deeds. The findings hold value in the lives of elderly as they desire better facilities to live a healthy life. This study can be used by researchers to base their future researches and interventions and by policy makers to design policies and other benefits according to the concepts held by elderly on their age.