Leisure, Ageing, Culture

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Leisure, Ageing, Culture Mental HealthRobert
B. PereiraMatthew EbdenKaren Stagnitti PhD
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Contents

• Introduction of Topic Area
• Method
• Participants
• Procedure
• Data Analysis
• Results and Discussion
• Conclusion

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Introduction

• Australias multicultural society
• Population predictions in the 21st century
• It is projected that Australias population aged
  65 years and over by the year 2031, will reach
  5.4 million, representing 22 percent of the total
  population (compared with 12 percent in 1999)
• (ABS, 2002a)

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Introduction

• Healthcare trends
• What is leisure?
• those activities not pertaining to work
  which produce intrinsic rewards and provide the
  participant with life-enhancing meaning and a
  sense of pleasure
• (Reid as cited in Suto, 1998, p. 274)

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Introduction

• Mental health professions
• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Mental Health Nursing
• Social Work
• Occupational Therapy
• (Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing,
  2002)
• Occupational therapy, leisure and mental health

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Introduction

• Need for research into leisure, ageing, culture
  and health
• Increasing challenges with service demand and
  delivery of culture-appropriate practice
• (Bonder, Martin Miracle, 2004 Fitzgerald,
  Mullavey-OByrne Clemson, 1997 Iwama, 2003
  Watts Carlson, 2002 Wittman Velde, 2002)

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The Research Question

• What are the subjective experiences of leisure
  categorised by Italian community members aged 65
  and over living in the Barwon-Southwestern Region
  of Victoria?

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Method

• Qualitative research investigation
• Phenomenological approach
• Phenomenological research aims to elicit life
  experiences and their meanings through peoples
  perceptions and interpretations of their lives
• (Barber, 2004 DePoy Gitlin, 1998 Law, 1998
  Stanford University, 2003)

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Participants

• Recruitment
• How many participants?

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Inclusion Criteria

• Aged 65 and over
• Born in Italy
• Living in the Barwon-Soutwestern Region of
  Victoria
• Retired and not in paid workforce
• Independent at home, living without community
  supports (e.g. district nursing services)
• Ambulant
• Have English communicational skills, and
• The participant may or may not have chronic
  disease or illness

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Places of Birth in Italy
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Instruments

• Two methods of data collection were used in this
  investigation
• Participant observation, and
• Semi-structured interviews
• Instruments

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Participant Observation

• Periodically from March through to July, 2005
• Visits to the club (Tuesdays, Thursdays and
  Sundays)

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Participant Observation

• Building of rapport and strong personal
  connections with people of a culturally diverse
  background

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Semi-structured Interviews

• Commenced mid-July and were completed by the end
  of the month
• Participant observation ceased on last day of
  interviewing in July
• Considerations made with interviewing older
  Italians
• Becoming an active participant-researcher

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Research Considerations

• Awareness of cultural sensitivity
• Approaching members
• Using the formal tense of the Italian language
  during dialogue
• Gender differences
• Researchers own ethnic background

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Semi-structured Interviews

• 30 to 45 minutes duration (approximately)
• Four interviews were completed entirely in
  Italian
• Two different private rooms were used at the club

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Data Analysis

• Preliminary research findings
• Transcription
• Thematic analysis of 3 variables
• Leisure activity(ies)
• Subjective experience (meanings derived from
  participating in leisure)
• Health benefit(s)

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Results

• Forty-one relationships found between (1) leisure
  activity(ies), (2) subjective experience and (3)
  health benefit(s)

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Leisure Activities Engaged by Older Italians

• Leisure in general (broader concept of leisure
  not specifically defined)
• Bocce
• Socialising
• Walking
• Gardening

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Subjective Experiences

• Well-defined positive subjective experiences
  elicited from thematic analysis
• Were directly related to the three major concepts
  of leisure theory
• Intrinsic motivation
• Freedom to suspend reality and
• Internal control
• (Bundy, 1993 Söderback Hammarlund, 1993)

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Examples of Subjective Experiences

• Leisure makes you feel happy, contented
  (Participants 5 7)
• I enjoy doing them (leisure activities)
  (Participants 1, 4, 5, 7, 8)
• I engage in leisure activities for fun
  (Participants 1, 4, 7, 9)

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Health Benefits from Engaging in Leisure

• The actual doing component of leisure was
  related with living longer
• Participants felt better when they participated
  in leisure activities as well as acknowledging
  that leisure increased their mental and physical
  health and strength respectively

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Health Benefits from Engaging in Leisure

• Descriptions of relaxation were also found to be
  a major health benefit for the majority of
  participants. Participant 2 described such a
  relationship
• It leisure relaxes you and when you enjoy
  doing things like that, its good for your
  health

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Health Benefits from Engaging in Leisure

• A unique finding in this investigation was found
  with relation to happiness, enjoyment and
  suspension from reality (Bundy, 1993)
• They are historically known as subjective
  experiences of leisure
• Participants in this investigation applied these
  experiences in context towards health benefits in
  their own right

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Leisure and feeling Depressed

• Three participants linked remaining inactive at
  home and lying down with feeling depressed
• They highlighted how they engaged in leisure
  activities to combat such feelings related to
  ill-health and wellbeing

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Conclusion

• Limitations
• Contribution of allied health professionals in
  mental health
• Integrating culturally sensitive practice
  techniques
• Future directions towards guiding improved
  outcomes and promoting healthy lifestyles

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Thankyou