Identifying and Codifying the Model of Meaning of Life in the Iranian Elderly: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Introduction: The evolutionary characteristics of old age and the approach of people to death at this stage of life makes this period different from others in the field of meaning of life.The purpose of this study was to analyze the lived experience of the Iranian elderly in order to develop a conceptual model of meaning of life.Method: This article is a qualitative research that was implemented and analyzed with the grounded theory approach. For this purpose, 25 elderly people (13 females and 12 males) of Shiraz city, who were over 65 years with the ability to speak Persian and those which had not any severe effective cognitive disorders were selected by purposeful and theoretical sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted. A systematic and analytical approach of Strauss and Corbin was used to reach the findings.Results: Based on the analysis, in open and axial coding, the obtained model had 14 main categories and 37 themes. This means, the perspective and perception of the elderly about a meaningful life is multi-dimensional.Conclusion: Paying attention to these components, in futuristic planning can be effective in constructing and accepting the active role of the elderly in the society and it can be used for planning macro-political, socio-economic policies with respect to future aging trends.