Older adults’ suggestions to engage other older adults in health and healthcare: a qualitative study conducted in western Canada

Figures & data

Table 1 Summary of thematic content analysis of older adults’ responses to the open-ended question, “What suggestions can you make to engage someone in their health and healthcare?” (n=538)

Themes	Subthemes/contextual contents	Freqa (%)
Theme 1: The government should provide feasible healthcare access and improved quality of care delivery for older adults	1.1 Creation of an equitable dental and prescription drug insurance plan	6 (0.6)
	1.2 Creation of more ambulance services and provision of funds for ease of transportation	24 (2.5)
	1.3 Provision of more healthcare services in rural and remote areas	25 (2.6)
	1.4 Easy access to healthcare professionals and services and reduced wait-times	174 (18.2)
		Subtotal: 229 (23.9)
	Selected quotes related to Theme 1: “Our access is not that good … you gotta wait for a couple of hours or a day … takes a lot of time to get (an) MRI … there is not enough preventative medicine.” “Nurse practitioners’ care is so much better than the doctors’. They pay more attention on the patient without rushing you. It is just so much better. No time for the doctor to discuss things with the patients, they are more concerned with the number of in-and-out patients.”
Theme 2: Capacity building	2.1 Having a positive outlook on life	30 (3.1)
	2.2 Taking responsibility for personal health and being proactive	355 (37.1)
	2.3 Encouraging physical activities, weight control, and healthy eating and living	188 (19.7)
		Subtotal: 573 (59.9)
	Selected quotes related Theme 2: “Be proactive … stay healthy, exercise, eat good food, take frequent walks, be kind to everyone, and assist neighbors … volunteer to work.” “You are responsible for your own health, which includes mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health … stop smoking.” “Speak up for yourself and don’t be afraid.” “Talk to your pharmacist.”
Theme 3: Family, community, and social support systems	3.1 Having individual or family support	74 (7.7)
	3.2 Engaging in community and social support systems	56 (5.9)
		Subtotal: 130 (13.6)
	Selected quotes related to Theme 3: “The best thing people can do is get together and get someone to come out to talk to us. Talk to us about what to look for and what [not]. It would be nice to be with a group and [to be] kept informed. There might be groups like that, but I don’t know.” “It is best to have someone to check on you when you need to be checked on if you’re having difficulty.”
Theme 4: Being more open to alternative medicine and other self-care options	4.1 Older adults being more open-minded about alternative medicine and other self-care options	12 (1.3)
		Subtotal: 12 (1.3)
	Selected quotes related to Theme 4 “Be open minded … give everything a try including traditional medicine.” “Be open minded … you can try alternative medicine.” “… go to church and pray.”
Theme 5: The government should hire more healthcare providers and provide continued learning in caring for older adults	5.1 Training of new healthcare personnel (ie, physicians and nurses) and re-training of currently practicing healthcare professionals	12 (1.3)
		Subtotal: 12 (1.3)
	Selected quotes related to Theme 5: “Most healthcare providers need more training.” “Doctor does not take patient’s concerns (seriously).” “Training for taking care of seniors.” “Simplify communication with elderly.” “Need training for dealing with someone with disability.” “Doctors who do not make referrals.” “Doctors’ attitudes.” “The system needs more health specialists to fill the gaps…especially in the rural areas where we reside.”
Sum total		956

Notes:

a Freq = frequency. Each response could be coded to more than one theme and subtheme as appropriate, which resulted in a total count of 956 suggestions for the contextual content areas.