Older Adults—Their Focus on Food and Future Living: A Grounded Theory Approach

Authors

Kai Victor Victor Hansen, University of Stavanger - Norwegian School of Hotel ManagementFollow

Abstract

Older adults, also known as the silver generation, are the new healthy generation. This generation has for many decades formed the basis for the prosperity found in Norway. The ageing population is growing rapidly in many countries around the world. The aim of this paper is to understand healthy active older adults’ interpretations of food and meals and their focus on food and future living. Nine CurroCus® group interviews, or fast focus groups, were conducted, lasting 37 to 56 minutes with an average of 45 minutes. Altogether, 76 persons from both genders participated, with an age span of 60 to 87 years, although participants were predominantly female (80%). The main findings indicated that older adults expect good overall experiences at nursing homes, including food and drink with good standards adapted to the individual’s needs and smaller apartments with common rooms for activities; they also actively use technology in their everyday lives. Future research should focus on areas such as user interaction strains around food in nursing homes and home residents, various measures for enabling the elderly to stay at home longer, and the mapping of combinations of food and medicines. In addition, different types of housing units should be better investigated.

Keywords

CurroCus®, Dignity, Future Living, Grounded Theory, Housing Units, Meal Experiences, Older Adults

Author Bio(s)

Kai Victor Hansen, Associate Professor, Norwegian School of Hotel Management in Norway, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Stavanger, PhD in Meal Knowledge, MSc in International Hotel and Tourism Administration. He is currently with teaching, researching, and methodological development in the areas of meal experiences, elderly and quality of life, restaurant management, consumer behaviour, sales and marketing. The latest publications from him have focused on elderly people at both hospitals and nursing homes regarding increased food intake. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: kai.v.hansen@uis.no.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the staff at Skipper Worse, including the general manager and former manager, for their assistance with the organization of the interviews. Thank you very much to all the respondents who used their free time to participate in the group interviews.

Publication Date

7-26-2020

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2020.3678

Recommended APA Citation

Hansen, K. V. (2020). Older Adults—Their Focus on Food and Future Living: A Grounded Theory Approach. The Qualitative Report, 25(7), 1981-1995. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.3678