Aging & Society: Eighth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

To live and age well in the community is an acknowledged goal for many older people. Encompassed in community living is an inherent need to connect with others. Such social connectedness is an essential expression of the human experience and fundamental to living and ageing well. However, older people ageing with and ageing into disability can experience particular challenges in maintaining lives in the community and social connectedness. New realities and fluctuating needs can cause social networks to conflate, constrict, or event disappear. A research study involving interviews with older people living in the community with a physical and/or a cognitive disability explores how community living is conceptualised. It explores the essential elements of meaningful community living, including social connectedness, as experienced at the intersection of ageing and disability. The findings revealed the importance of support and social interaction. Social networks helped older persons with disabilities to maintain their autonomy and independence. They also served as tangible links to the community. Such networks were vitally important given that the added dimension of disability in older age can further impact the potential for social interaction. Dynamics of social relationships can also change when new roles are assumed such as partners becoming caregivers These findings highlight the importance of social connectedness to the pursuance, realisation, and enhancement of meaningful community living. Social networks build on the inherent strengths and capabilities of the person in older age, thereby helping them to achieve their desired goal of ageing well in the community.