Being Able to Do the Things that I Want to Do

Abstract

This study examined the meanings that older women aged 75 to 86 with osteoporosis attributed to health, quality of life, and well-being. The purpose of the research was to ascertain how the women defined these concepts within the context of their lived realities and in relation to their changing social and physical circumstances. The ability to engage in meaningful leisure activities was the foundation of the women's definitions of health, quality of life, and well-being. The data suggest that the ways in which women define health, quality of life, and well-being reflect Bury's (1988) concept of “meaning as consequence.”

Key Words:

• Health
• quality of life
• well-being
• osteoporosis
• qualitative research
• older women