RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A qualitative study of older adult trauma survivors’ experiences in acute care and early recovery
JF CMAJ Open
JO CMAJ
FD Canadian Medical Association
SP E323
OP E328
DO 10.9778/cmajo.20220013
VO 11
IS 2
A1 Lesley Gotlib Conn
A1 Avery B. Nathens
A1 Damon C. Scales
A1 Kelly Vogt
A1 Camilla L. Wong
A1 Barbara Haas
YR 2023
UL http://www.cmajopen.ca/content/11/2/E323.abstract
AB Background: Older adults (aged ≥ 65 yr) account for a substantial proportion of hospital admissions for severe injury, yet little is known about their care experiences and views regarding outcomes. We sought to characterize the acute care and early recovery experiences of older adults who had been discharged after traumatic injury, with a long-term goal to inform the selection of patient-centred process and outcome measures in geriatric trauma.Methods: From June 2018 to September 2019, we conducted telephone interviews with adults aged 65 years or older who had been discharged after traumatic injury within 6 months from Sunnybrook or London Health Sciences Centres in Ontario, Canada. Using interpretive description and thematic analysis, we drew on social science theories of illness and aging for data interpretation. We analyzed data to the point of theoretical saturation.Results: We interviewed 25 trauma survivors aged 65–88 years. Most were injured in a fall. Four themes characterized participants’ experiences, as follows: “I don’t feel like a senior” (i.e., participants disliked being viewed as a senior or as needing senior-specific care); “don’t bother telling him anything” (i.e., participants perceived ageist assumptions and treatment in acute care processes); getting back to normal (i.e., participants emphasized their active lifestyles and functional recovery as goals of care); “I have lost control of my life” (i.e., substantial social and personal losses linked to participants’ experiences and adaptations to aging generally).Interpretation: Findings suggest that older adults experience social and personal loss after injury, and underscore how implicit age bias may influence care experiences and outcomes. This can inform improvements in injury care and guide providers in the selection of patient-centred outcome measures.