Perceptions of aging and falling ill: a study with elderly persons in palliative care

Abstract Objective: to learn the perceptions of elderly persons in palliative care regarding coping with aging and illness. Method: an exploratory, descriptive, qualitative study was carried out. The study included 11 elderly persons in palliative care because of oncologic disease. Semi-structured interviews were carried out which were analyzed with the aid of the ALCESTE software. Results: two axes were identified from the content analysis. The first, Resist to Survive and Live, has two categories: the first, aging with integrity, portrays the positive perception of the participants regarding the aging process, and coping strategies used to deal with aging and with illness; the other category, resilient development, refers to the life trajectories of the participants and the adversities of the process of development and aging. The second axis, Resist to Die Well, has only one category and refers to the perceptions of the elderly about the stress related to illness. Conclusion: the results show that the perceptions of aging and falling ill involved resilience, as the participants focused on what they had gained rather than their losses. In this context, they used resilient coping strategies: spiritual support, cognitive restructuring, and acceptance.