Abstract
With population aging, increasingly many elderly individuals are expected to participate in economic activities. Elderly workers have a higher prevalence of multiple chronic diseases, making it necessary to examine elderly workers’ experiences of health-related self-management in work environments. This qualitative study investigated the meaning of work and health-related self-management experiences among elderly workers with multiple chronic diseases. The study participants were elderly workers residing in South Korea (65 years old or older) with at least two chronic diseases. Twelve participated in individual interviews, which were audio-recorded and transcribed. Qualitative content analysis was conducted with the transcribed data. Six themes, 21 sub-themes, and 40 codes were derived. The themes were “benefit of work on health and life”, “adaptation to a new work environment”, “endurance”, “continuous efforts to maintain health”, “difficulties in self-management”, and “requirements for health promotion”. The participants experienced difficulties in health-related self-management due to time constraints, poor work environment, and financial burdens. However, participants expressed their desire to invest effort into managing their physical and psychological health and to work as long as possible. Programs that consider the aging and health-related characteristics of elderly workers and their work environments should be developed and implemented.
Highlights
As the elderly population grew due to improvements in medical technology and longer lifespans, the working life expectancy increased worldwide, leading to a greater number of elderly workers [1,2].Old age used to be perceived as a time to retire and look back on the life that one has lived, but this paradigm is shifting as the population continues to age
The aim of this study is to explore the meaning of work and health-related self-management experiences of elderly workers with multiple chronic diseases, thereby yielding insights into the meaning of work and health and requirements for self-management of health
This qualitative study aimed to contribute to the health promotion of elderly workers by describing the meaning of work and health among elderly workers with multiple chronic diseases, understanding their health-related self-management experiences in depth
Summary
As the elderly population grew due to improvements in medical technology and longer lifespans, the working life expectancy increased worldwide, leading to a greater number of elderly workers [1,2].Old age used to be perceived as a time to retire and look back on the life that one has lived, but this paradigm is shifting as the population continues to age. In the United States, the number of elderly workers has been increasing dramatically since 2000 [3], and in Europe, the inflow of young workers has slowed down while the retirement age has gradually gone up [4]. South Korea is experiencing various social issues due to rapid population aging, including poverty among the elderly due to insufficient planning for retirement [5]. The current generation of elderly individuals in South Korea faced difficulties in saving for retirement due to the need to support their parents as well as their children and their education. An earlier retirement age and the lack of a social safety net have made it necessary for many elderly individuals to continue working to survive and meet their economic needs [5]. According to a 2017 Ministry of Health and Welfare report, 30.9% of individuals aged over 65 were currently working, and 73.0% of those who were working indicated that the reason for working
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