Maintaining social connections and positive attitudes toward ageing helped older adults mitigate the negative effects of physical decline and improve self-efficacy following acute hospitalisation.
Acute hospitalisation in older age prompts a re-evaluation of self-efficacy, highlighting the need for interventions that promote social connectedness and positive attitudes to ageing to optimise recovery.
ABSTRACTBackground Hospitalisation of older people can result in significant functional decline, increasing care needs and the risk of re-hospitalisation. Self-efficacy to adapt lifestyle and health behaviours can help older people recover and avoid re-hospitalisation. Understanding what influences older people's self-efficacy can help improve healthy ageing after hospitalisation. Aim This paper aims to explore social, intrinsic, and environmental influences on the self-efficacy of community-dwelling older people, and subsequent impacts on their resilience and healthy ageing. Methods This paper reports the qualitative phase of a sequential mixed-method study. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, a subgroup of older people participated in semistructured interviews following hospital admission. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Five themes emerged: (1) Remaining connected found supportive social networks positively influenced self-efficacy and attitudes toward ageing; (2) Not giving up even though "I'm getting older" highlights the importance of positive attitudes toward ageing; (3) Learning to live well in older age found health professionals' interventions and technology improved self-efficacy to adapt and manage health conditions; (4) Dealing with consequences of declining physical function showed that losses in meaningful activities reduced resilience; (5) Impact of previous life experiences highlights the impact on mental health and resilience. Conclusions Acute hospitalisation in older age can precipitate re-evaluation of self-efficacy to maintain a good quality of life. Interventions that promote social connectedness and positive attitudes to ageing through a collaborative approach can potentially mitigate the negative effects of functional decline and promote adaptive behaviours that optimise health and wellbeing among hospitalised older people.
Remm et al. (Sun,) conducted a other in Acute hospitalisation in older people (n=11). Maintaining social connections and positive attitudes toward ageing helped older adults mitigate the negative effects of physical decline and improve self-efficacy following acute hospitalisation.