Women with Osteoporosis: Strategies for Managing Agig and Chronic Illness

ABSTRACT

This study focused on how self-concept and the meanings of aging and chronic illness provide an understanding of the diversity of strategies older women with osteoporosis use to manage their aging and chronic ill ness on a day-to-day basis. Twenty-eight women participated in this qualitative study through in-depth interviews and a self-administered questionnaire. While there was a range of strategies used across three groups of women, there was a predominant strategy which emerged as useful for each group: acceptance was used by women with confident selves, denial by women with contradictory selves and resignation by women with disparaged selves. An awareness of these strategies may be useful in under standing how women with osteoporosis make decisions to seek care from health and social ser vice providers.

KEYWORDS:

• Older women
• self-concept
• chronic illness
• management strategies