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The Meaning of Mental Health from Elderly Women's Perspectives: A Basis for Health Promotion
Author(s) -
Hedelin Birgitta,
Strandmark Margaretha
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
perspectives in psychiatric care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1744-6163
pISSN - 0031-5990
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-6163.2001.tb00611.x
Subject(s) - zest , meaning (existential) , mental health , dignity , psychology , health promotion , promotion (chess) , phenomenology (philosophy) , qualitative research , social psychology , medicine , nursing , psychotherapist , sociology , public health , epistemology , social science , philosophy , politics , political science , law
PROBLEM. To gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of mental health. METHODS. Qualitative interviews with 16 women between the ages of 71 and 92. The data were collected and analyzed using a phenomenological approach. FINDINGS. The essence of mental health is the experience of confirmation, trust and confidence in the future, as well as a zest for life, development, and involvement in one's relationship to oneself and to others. CONCLUSIONS. Creating arenas for encounters confirming the individual's human existence and dignity is an important basis for the psychiatric nurse's health‐promotion work.