Self-Esteem Experiences of Older Adults with Chronic Illness in Urban Area

Abstract

     The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the self-esteem experiences of older adults with the chronic diseases in urban areas. Purposive sampling was used for the recruitment of participants. The data were collected from April to September 2019 by conducting in-depth interviews with a maximum of 20 elected participants in the municipal area in Nonthaburi Province and Bangkok Metropolis. The thematic analysis was used for analysing the data. Three major related themes were conclusive from the findings of the study: the self-reliance, closeness, and creating value for themselves. For the self-reliance theme, participants said they never give up on something in their lives. They also accepted their diseases and helped themselves as much as possible. Sometimes, if they could not solve their problems, the would let its go. In closeness’s theme, participants mentioned that they had good relationships with families and friends. Also, their children and their grandchildren always took care of them that made them have happy lives. Lastly, in creating value for themselves, they had activities and joined social activities. They realized that they were respected from families and communities. The findings showed that the opinions of older adult regarding their self-esteems were to create the awareness. From this information, older adults and healthcare teams can integrate this knowledge for making plans to improve older adults’ self-esteems in order to reduce and improve their quality of life.