Article

PURPOSE: To examine the issues related to aging with disability from the
perspective of the person with the disabilities. METHOD: Twelve
community-dwelling adults with spinal cord injury (SCI), post-polio syndrome
(PPS) or multiple sclerosis (MS) participated in focus groups where they were
asked open-ended questions about changes related to aging with disability,
accommodations made and perspectives on the future. Results of qualitative analysis suggested five major themes related to aging with a
disability: (1) Participant identity, including comments about how participants
described themselves and their lives with a long-standing disability; (2)
Physical pathways including comments about the progression of physical symptoms;
(3) Psychosocial pathways, including descriptions of adaptations to disability,
the development of emotional well-being and strategies to deal with disability;
(4) Changing health care, reflecting improvement noted over time in health care
services; and (5) Concerns about the future, including comments reflecting
participant uncertainty about the potential course of disability. CONCLUSIONS:
The process of aging with disability was characterised by multiple pathways.
Some, including positive psychosocial adjustment and medical advancements, were
favourable, while others, including physical decline, were not. The co-existence
of high quality of life in the presence of physical decline is consistent with a
larger literature in older adults, and future research should focus on identifying aging factors that may contribute to the buffering the psychological
impact of physical decline.

Langue : ANGLAIS