"Who's Been Putting Socks in My Drawer?" Narrative Case Study of an Elder Role Model

Locked-in syndrome: A qualitative study of a life story

INTRODUCTION

Locked-in syndrome (LIS) is characterized by tetraplegia, anarthria, paralysis of cranial nerves, and facial musculature, with the preservation of consciousness and cognitive abilities, as well as vertical eye movements and eyelid movements, hearing, and breathing. Three types of LIS are distinguished: classic, incomplete, and total. The aim of the present study was to describe the life history of a person with LIS, as well as the wife's experience and perspective of this life history.

METHODS

A qualitative life history study was conducted with two participants: a 54-year-old man diagnosed with LIS and his 50-year-old wife. Data were collected through interviews and autobiographical documents submitted by the participants and analyzed following Braun and Clarke's method of inductive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Five main themes were identified: (1) how to understand and overcome the new situation; (2) the process of care and rehabilitation; (3) communication; (4) writing as a way of helping oneself and others; and (5) personal autonomy and social participation.

CONCLUSION

The participants valued the support of their friends and family in the acceptance stage of the new situation, giving special importance to the communication skills and medical attention received after diagnosis.

Impact of Historical Intimate Partner Violence on Wellbeing and Risk for Elder Abuse in Older Women

OBJECTIVE

To assess the psychological impacts and risk for elder abuse associated with historical intimate partner violence (IPV) in older women.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study SETTING: All Australian states and territories.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 12,259 women aged 70-75 years at baseline participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health.

MEASUREMENTS

Women were asked at baseline whether they had ever been in a violent relationship with a partner, and completed a comprehensive survey about their physical and psychological health every 3 years (15 years follow-up) including the Short Form-36 Mental Health subscale (SF-MH) and Vulnerability to Abuse Screening Scale (VASS). Linear mixed effects modelling with maximum likelihood estimation assessed the impact of IPV over time on the SF-MH and VASS. Risk for incident depression and experiencing physical or sexual violence over follow-up was examined using logistic regression models.

RESULTS

The 782 (6.4%) women who reported historical IPV recorded significantly poorer psychological wellbeing at all timepoints compared to those who did not report historical IPV, and were at higher risk for incident depression over follow up (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.11-1.67). There was no significant relationship between historical IPV and self-reported exposure to physical or sexual violence in late life (aOR = 0.87, 95%CI: 0.53-1.43), but women who reported historical IPV recorded higher rates of vulnerability to abuse on the VASS.

DISCUSSION

Women who have experienced a violent relationship continue to experience negative effects into older age, highlighting the importance of clinical monitoring and ongoing support for survivors as they age.