Interview An Older Adult

nterview with an Older Adult

Rachel Ehrbar

University of New Hampshire

In an effort to learn about the process of aging and what it means to someone who is considered an older adult, I interviewed a man who is approaching his sixty-seventh birthday in August. For the purposes of this paper, I will refer to the gentleman interviewed as John, a fictitious name in order to protect his privacy. John is the youngest of two sisters and one brother, who all grew up in a small town in New Jersey. Both of John’s parents died before his thirtieth birthday, his mother dying of a young age after suffering from tuberculosis, which caused her to live her last years of life quarantined to a sanatorium. When I asked John about his thoughts on
John made several comments about the fact that he is divorced, single and that his children do not live near him while explaining that this has created a fear of being lonely in his older years. Not only is John concerned with potential loneliness, however he expressed his beliefs that once a person enters a nursing-home, their mental health deteriorates much more rapidly than their physical health. When John was discussing his recommendation that nurses and other health care professionals should instill more caring and “less dictating” in their practice, he expressed concerns about the loss of autonomy that one experiences when living in a nursing-home. John’s view on nursing-home care is that people are told what to do and when they can do it with little regard for each person’s individual preferences and choices. He stated that an assisted living facility that promotes mental, social and physical engagement opportunities while supporting individual lifestyles and decision-making would be an ideal living situation for someone in their later years of life. Tabloski supports this concept of mental health as she explains that a “positive mental health can last a lifetime and support growth, creativity, sense of humor and zest for life until the moment of death” (2010, p. 203). In addition,
As previously mentioned, John has already had three teeth removed, struggles financially and therefore eats cheap, unhealthy foods, works long hours and often times skips meals and binges later, drinks alcohol in excess, does not exercise and is a smoker. While many of these behaviors could potentially be modified, it does not change the fact that John is still at risk for, and most likely already suffering from, poor nutritional health going into his late sixties. The Nutrition Screening Initiative Checklist found in Gerontological Nursing, which is used to evaluate the health status of individuals, states that one in five adults skip meals daily while only thirteen percent eat the minimum requirement of fruits and vegetables. In addition, the checklist states that one in four adults consume more than adequate amounts of alcohol and tooth loss is a contributing factor to decreased nutrition (Tabloski, 2010, p. 133). Another important concept that is discussed in gerontology is the relationship between poor nutritional health and food insecurity—a term that represents the lack of resources or access to food in a household, which is evident in seven percent of elderly households in the United States (Tabloski, 2010, p. 177). John is aware of how his habits and circumstances are affecting his health, however he mentioned that he just