Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-qs9v7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-10T14:31:05.437Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Older adults' meanings of preparedness: a New Zealand perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2015

ROBYN TUOHY  and
CHRISTINE STEPHENS
ROBYN TUOHY*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology/Joint Centre for Disaster Research, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.
CHRISTINE STEPHENS
Affiliation:
School of Psychology/Joint Centre for Disaster Research, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.
*
Address for correspondence: Robyn Tuohy, School of Psychology/Joint Centre for Disaster Research, Massey University, PO Box 756, Wellington 6140, New Zealand E-mail: robyn.tuohy.1@uni.massey.ac.nz
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Contemporary Western social policy encourages older adults to maintain independence in the community. Socio-cultural norms of independence have recently become associated with successful ageing. Personal autonomy and self-responsibility are cultural markers by which older adults increasingly define their lives and identity. Many older adults seek to remain independent within their communities, while coping with age-related decline, and living alone with decreased social connectedness. These characteristics have also been associated with personal and social vulnerability and explain why older adults are at higher risk of experiencing disproportionate negative outcomes during disasters. This paper describes findings from narrative interviews with a sample of independent community-dwelling New Zealand older adults. The interviews sought to explore their views about disaster preparedness. However, within their accounts was a collective and bigger story about personal preparedness, and social relationships in later life, which extended beyond the context of preparing for a future disaster event. Older adults identified age-specific preparedness as a way to maintain independence in the everyday context of their lives. Concerns about health influenced their choices and actions as they evaluated and prioritised goals and strategies to maintain independence and wellbeing. Social relationships were also considered an important resource to support independence. Understanding the role of preparedness in the everyday lives of older adults has implications for improving the disproportionate negative outcomes this vulnerable age group can experience during a disaster. Therefore, health, gerontology and emergency management have much in common when considering older adults' preparedness during non-disaster times.

Keywords

ageingolder adultsindependencepreparednessdisaster preparednesshealth
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , March 2016 , pp. 613 - 630
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baltes, M. M. and Lang, F. R. 1997. Everyday functioning and successful aging: the impact of resources. Psychology and Aging, 12, 3, 433–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baltes, P. B. and Baltes, M. M. 1990. Psychological perspectives on successful aging: the model of selective optimization with compensation. In Baltes, P. B. and Baltes, M. M. (eds), Successful Aging: Perspectives from the Behavioural Sciences. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biggs, S. 1997. Choosing not to be old? Masks, bodies and identity management in later life. Ageing & Society, 17, 5, 553–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biggs, S. 2001. Toward critical narrativity: stories of aging in contemporary social policy. Journal of Aging Studies, 15, 4, 303–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolin, B. 2007. Race, class, ethnicity, and disaster vulnerability. In Rodriguez, H., Quarantelli, E. L. and Dynes, R. R. (eds), Handbook of Disaster Research. Springer, New York, 113–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolin, R. and Klenow, D. J. 1988. Older people in disaster: a comparison of black and white victims. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 26, 1, 29–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyatzis, R. E. 1998. Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code Development. Sage, Thousand Oaks, California.Google Scholar
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. 2006. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 2, 77–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruner, J. 2004. Life as narrative. Social Research, 71, 3, 691–710.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicirelli, V. G. 2006. Older Adults’ Views on Death. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
Cutter, S. L., Boruff, B. J. and Shirley, W. L. 2003. Social vulnerability to environmental hazards. Social Science Quarterly, 84, 2, 242–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernandez, L. S., Byard, D., Lin, C. C., Benson, S. and Barbera, J. A. 2002. Frail elderly as disaster victims: emergency management strategies. Prehospital Disaster Medicine, 17, 2, 67–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Friese, S. 2012. Qualitative Data Analysis with Atlas.ti. Sage, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilleard, C. and Higgs, P. 2000. Cultures of Ageing: Self, Citizen and the Body. Pearson Education, Harlow, UK.Google Scholar
Heller, K., Alexander, D. B., Gatz, M., Knight, B. G. and Rose, T. 2005. Social and personal factors as predictors of earthquake preparation: the role of support provision, network discussion, negative affect, age, and education. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35, 2, 399–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holstein, M. B. and Minkler, M. 2003. Self, society and the ‘New Gerontology’. The Gerontologist, 43, 6, 787–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2012. Managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation. In Field, C. B., Barros, V., Stocker, T. F., Qin, D., Dokken, D. J., Ebi, K. L.Mastrandrea, M. D., Mach, K. J., Plattner, G-K., Allen, S. K., Tignor, M., Midgley, P. M. (eds), A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva, 1–19. Available online at http://ipcc-wg2.gov/SREX/. Accessed on 12/12/12.Google Scholar
Johnson, C. L. and Barer, B. M. 1997. Life Beyond 85 Years: The Aura of Survivorship. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
Katz, S. and Laliberte-Rudman, D. 2005. Exemplars of retirement: identity and agency between lifestyle and social movement. In Katz, S. (ed.), Cultural Aging. Broadview Press, Peterborough, Canada, 140–60.Google Scholar
Katz, S. and Marshall, B. 2003. New sex for old: lifestyle, consumerism, and the ethics of aging well. Journal of Aging Studies, 17, 1, 3–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kemp, C. L. and Denton, M. 2003. The allocation of responsibility for later life: Canadian reflections on the roles of individuals, government, employers and families. Ageing & Society, 23, 6, 737–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klinenberg, E. 2002. Heatwave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lang, F. R., Rieckmann, N. and Baltes, M. M. 2002. Adapting to aging losses: do resources facilitate strategies of selection, compensation, and optimization in everyday functioning? Journal of Gerontology, 57, 6, 501–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindell, M. K. and Perry, R. W. 2000. Household adjustment to earthquake hazard: a review of research. Environment and Behavior, 32, 4461–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lupton, D. 2013. Risk. Second edition, Routledge, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mack, R., Salmoni., A., Viverais-Dressler, G., Porter, E. and Garg, R. 1997. Perceived risks to independent living: the views of older, community dwelling adults. The Gerontologist, 37, 6, 729–36.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Minichiello, V., Browne, J. and Kendig, H. 2000. Perceptions and consequences of ageism: views of older people. Ageing & Society, 20, 3, 253–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ngo, E. B. 2001. When disasters and age collide: reviewing vulnerability of the elderly. Natural Hazards Review, 2, 2, 80–9. Available online at http://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/%28ASCE%291527-6988%282001%292%3A2%2880%29. Accessed on 30/5/2011CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oriol, W. 1999. Psychosocial Issues for Older Adults in Disasters. Center for Mental Health Services. Available online at http://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content/SMA11-DISASTER/SMA11-DISASTER-03.pdf. AGoogle Scholar
Peek, L. 2010. Age. In Phillips, B., Thomas, D., Fothergill, A. and Blinn-Pike, L. (eds), Social Vulnerability to Disasters. Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, Florida, 155–85.Google Scholar
Perry, R. W. and Lindell, M. K. 1997. Aged citizens in the warning phase of disasters: re-examining the evidence. International Journal of Aging and Development, 44, 4, 257–67.Google ScholarPubMed
Petersen, A. and Lupton, D. 1996. The New Public Health: Health and Self in the Age of Risk. Sage, London.Google Scholar
Phoenix, C. and Sparkes, A. C. 2009. Being Fred: small stories and the accomplishment of a positive ageing identity. Qualitative Research, 9, 2, 219–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plath, D. 2008. Independence in old age: the route to social exclusion? British Journal of Social Work, 38, 7, 1353–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pollner, M. and Stein, J. 1996. Narrative mapping of social worlds: the voice of Alcoholics Anonymous. Symbolic Interaction, 19, 3, 203–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Portacolone, E. 2011. The myth of independence for Americans living alone in the Bay Area of San Francisco: a critical reflection. Ageing & Society, 31, 5, 803–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powell, S., Plouffe, L. and Gorr, P. 2009. When ageing and disasters collide: lessons from 16 international case studies. Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 134, 3/4, 202–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Riessman, C. K. 2008. Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences. Sage, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Rudman, D. L. 2006. Shaping the active, autonomous and responsible modern retiree: an analysis of discursive technologies and their links with neo-liberal political rationality. Ageing & Society, 26, 2, 181–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Secker, J., Hill, R., Villeneau, L. and Parkman, S. 2003. Promoting independence: but promoting what and how? Ageing & Society, 23, 3, 375–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, J. A., Braunack-Mayer, A., Wittert, G. and Warin, M. 2007. ‘I've been independent for so damn long’!: independence, masculinity and aging in a help seeking context. Journal of Aging Studies, 21, 4, 325–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solberg, C., Rossetto, T. and Joffe, H. 2010. The social psychology of seismic hazard adjustment: re-evaluating the international literature. Natural Hazards Earth System Sciences, 10, 81663–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spittal, M. J., McClure, J., Siegert, R. J. and Walkey, F. H. 2008. Predictors of two types of earthquake preparation: survival activities and mitigation activities. Environment and Behaviour, 40, 6, 789–817.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Statistics New Zealand 2004. Older New Zealanders – 65 and Beyond 2004. Available online at http://www.stats.govt.nz/searchresults.aspx?q=community%20dwelling20older%20adults. Accessed 30/7/2009.Google Scholar
Stephens, C., Breheny, M. and Mansvelt, J. 2014. Healthy ageing from the perspective of older people: a capability approach to resilience. Psychology and Health. Available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2014.904862 Accessed on 20/8/2014.Google ScholarPubMed
Townsend, J., Godfrey, M. and Denby, T. 2006. Heroines, villains and victims: older people's perceptions of others. Ageing & Society, 26, 6, 883–900.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuohy, R. and Stephens, C. 2011. Exploring older adults’ personal and social vulnerability in a disaster. International Journal of Emergency Management, 8, 1, 60–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuohy, R., Stephens, C. and Johnston, D. 2014 a. Qualitative research can improve understandings about disaster preparedness for independent older adults in the community. Disaster Prevention and Management, 23, 3, 296–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuohy, R., Stephens, C. and Johnston, D. 2014 b. Older adults’ disaster preparedness in the context of September 2010–December 2012 Canterbury earthquake sequence. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 9, 194–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Health Organisation (WHO) 2002. Active Ageing: A Policy Framework. WHO, Geneva. Available online at http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2002/WHO_NMH_NPH_02.8.pdf. Accessed on 14/10/2013.Google Scholar
World Health Organisation (WHO) 2008. Older Persons in Emergencies: An Active Ageing Perspective. Available online at http://www.who.int/ageing/publications/emergencies/en/index.html. Accessed 10/3/2012Google Scholar