Elderly women used interdisciplinary approaches to face obstacles and make a successful transition through recovery after hip fracture
QUESTION: What are elderly women's experiences of the factors that promote function and enable a successful transition through the recovery process after a hip fracture?
Design
Grounded theory.
Setting
Midwestern USA.
Participants
15 English speaking women >70 years of age (age range 72–82 y, 100% white) who were recovering from hip fracture, had been discharged from a subacute unit in the previous 9 months, had returned home to live alone, and were cognitively intact. All women had children who visited at least weekly.
Methods
Focus groups (3 groups of 7, 5, and 3 women, respectively) were held in a small, comfortable room within a 250 bed hospital. Predetermined, open ended questions were used to encourage participants to talk openly about the transitional conditions through recovery from hip fracture. During the sessions, non-verbal behaviour was recorded and important points were validated by the moderator. Sessions were audiotaped …
