The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine nursing interventions which would facilitate positive lives for elderly Korean women, by investigating the causes for their grief and its meaning to them. Data collection was performed from December 2000 until April 2001, through systematic interviews and participatory observations of six elderly women attending a welfare center in downtown Seoul, Korea. Each subject was interviewed five or six times for 11 / 2 h each time. Analysis based upon the Giorgi method produced the following results of causes for the elderly womens' grief and its meanings to them: (i) physical and physiological decline caused by growing old: husband's health problem, own physical suffering, lack of attention to surroundings, insomnia; (ii) unpleasant memories of spouse: husband's infidelity, husband's incapability, husband's disregard; (iii) pity for children: unfaithful children, uncertain of children's future, children's early death; (iv) regrettable fate: painful daily lives, unreliable life, unlucky destiny, sense of emptiness; (v) anxiety about the future: sense of despair, sense of loneliness, economic hardship, fear of imminent death. It was concluded that a variety of programs and social meetings for the elderly so that they may overcome their physiological or psychological crisis need to be developed and supported by the government. In addition, in order to implement successful social welfare for elderly women, special consideration, whether at the governmental level or at the personal level, needs to be devoted to those who are without financial support or social concern.
Elderly Women's Grief in Korea. Publishing Authors By Initials
