The Possibilities of Life Story Recollection by the Elderly to Understand Their Desires in the Last Stage of Their Life

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to listen to and record the elderly's recollection of their life story focusing on how their desires in the last stage of their life are expressed. The participants in the research were five elderly women living in nursing home 'A.' The researcher held three dialogues with each participant and recorded the conversations that centered on their life stories.The analysis of the records revealed that when the elderly women recalled their lives 'children' was a frequently used keyword. It was found that, after recalling their life, the elderly women would readily start discussing the end of their own lives. Listening to the life stories of the elderly women, the researcher learned that they consider the time when they will no longer be able to eat as the sign that they will soon die, and they were trying to accept the fact calmly. This research also shows that the elderly desire to maintain personal relationships with others till the end of their lives. Therefore, during terminal care the elderly should be kept in contact with others and not be allowed to feel isolated.Conversation centering on listening to the elderly's life story contains an aspect of care in that the existence of the elderly person is affirmed by themselves as well as by those who surround them, and it allows the elderly to express how they would like to live the last years of their life.