The Forgotten Faces: The Lonely Journey of Powerlessness Experienced by Elderly Single Chinese Men with Heart Disease in Taiwan

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the content and background context of powerlessness experienced by elderly single Chinese men with heart disease and their coping behaviors during their hospitalization stage. Data were gathered by semistructured interviews at a leading veterans’ hospital in northern Taiwan and analyzed using a qualitative content analysis mode. Twenty-six men who were 65 or older, diagnosed with heart disease, and who lived alone during the preadmission stage were recruited. Eighty-one percent (N = 21) reported that their perceptions of powerlessness occurred either in the preadmission or hospitalization stage or were expected to occur after discharge. Other complaints of powerlessness were attributed to having no choices in appropriate living places during the preadmission stage, having no control over discomfort, being unable to obtain care and companionship from families and friends, failing to get medical information about their disease and options of treatment during hospitalization, or expecting deteriorating health and receiving no assistance during emergencies or in the dying stage after discharge from the hospital. (Geriatr Nurs 2000;21:254-9)