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Watching television in later life: A deeper understanding of TV viewing in the homes of old people and in geriatric care contexts

Östlund, Britt LU (2010) In Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences 24(2). p.233-243
Abstract
A secret among staff at nursing homes is that they are often ambivalent about old residents spending so much time watching TV since it is a common cultural perception that it makes the viewer passive. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of reflecting on the TV viewing habits old people bring with them when they move into geriatric care. The findings are based on a study involving qualitative interviews and observations in two nursing home settings – urban and rural – of twenty persons between 82 and 100. The results confirm that TV viewing is far from a passive activity. Instead, it contributes to structuring daily life, to satisfying old peoples’ needs for reflection and contemplation and to remaining socially... (More)
A secret among staff at nursing homes is that they are often ambivalent about old residents spending so much time watching TV since it is a common cultural perception that it makes the viewer passive. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of reflecting on the TV viewing habits old people bring with them when they move into geriatric care. The findings are based on a study involving qualitative interviews and observations in two nursing home settings – urban and rural – of twenty persons between 82 and 100. The results confirm that TV viewing is far from a passive activity. Instead, it contributes to structuring daily life, to satisfying old peoples’ needs for reflection and contemplation and to remaining socially integrated. As such, TV viewing makes a significant contribution to their capacity to cope with disengagement in old age and can be used as a way of promoting communication and well-being in geriatric care. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
TV viewing, Older persons, meaning, routines, geriatric contexts, Certec
in
Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences
volume
24
issue
2
pages
233 - 243
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • wos:000277713500005
  • scopus:77953976678
ISSN
1471-6712
DOI
10.1111/j.1471-6712.2009.00711.x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4f0ff13d-8d4c-426a-a533-ca1534cd369a (old id 754985)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:58:42
date last changed
2022-03-13 21:27:56
@article{4f0ff13d-8d4c-426a-a533-ca1534cd369a,
  abstract     = {{A secret among staff at nursing homes is that they are often ambivalent about old residents spending so much time watching TV since it is a common cultural perception that it makes the viewer passive. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of reflecting on the TV viewing habits old people bring with them when they move into geriatric care. The findings are based on a study involving qualitative interviews and observations in two nursing home settings – urban and rural – of twenty persons between 82 and 100. The results confirm that TV viewing is far from a passive activity. Instead, it contributes to structuring daily life, to satisfying old peoples’ needs for reflection and contemplation and to remaining socially integrated. As such, TV viewing makes a significant contribution to their capacity to cope with disengagement in old age and can be used as a way of promoting communication and well-being in geriatric care.}},
  author       = {{Östlund, Britt}},
  issn         = {{1471-6712}},
  keywords     = {{TV viewing; Older persons; meaning; routines; geriatric contexts; Certec}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{233--243}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences}},
  title        = {{Watching television in later life: A deeper understanding of TV viewing in the homes of old people and in geriatric care contexts}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2009.00711.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/j.1471-6712.2009.00711.x}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}