QuaLiTy OF LiFe is … : The VieWs OF OLDer reciPieNTs OF LOW-LeVeL hOme suPPOr T

Abstract

A qualitative study explored the perceptions of quality of life of older people receiving low-level home support in a selected locale in New Zealand. The results shed light on the role that home support at the “lower ” end of health resource allocation plays in elderly recipients’ quality of life. They also provide insights into these elders ’ perceptions of current national policy, which advocates both for “ageing in place ” and for targeting support to those with higher-level need. Six themes emerge from how these elders talk about and define what quality of life means to them: good people, day-to-day life, keeping healthy, living with loss, at my age, and the future. An in-depth understanding is thus presented of the views of this group of elders in relation to a question of high priority in current economic, health and social debates in New Zealand.