빈곤노인의 노화경험 : 질적 연구를 통한 빈곤노인복지정책의 탐색 = (The) Lived Experience of Aging of the Poor Elderly

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this study is to examine the lived experience of aging of the poor elderly, to broaden our understanding of them and to identify suitable welfare policies on their behalf.
As the life expectancy of the impoverished elderly becomes higher, their population grows, resulting in many of our elderly living long but low-quality lives.
It is necessary to specify exactly how senior citizens live out their late lives (what their lived experience of aging is), not just as a socio-economic minority, but also as individuals. The aging society is in need of various welfare services to meet the requirements of different individuals. These requirements can be categorized using all social strata based on the elderly, the priority being to establish a welfare policy independently targeting the poor elderly who are the most socially vulnerable. In this thesis, I have defined the meaning of the ‘lived experience of aging’ for the impoverished elderly who are influenced by social-structural environments. On the basis of these people’s needs and the nature of the lived experiences of aging as brought to light through this study, I have proposed a range of welfare policies for the poor elderly.
I proposed two main research questions in order to achieve the study purpose mentioned above: What is the lived experience of aging like for the poor elderly? And, what welfare policy proposals are necessary? I employed a qualitative research method in order to discern the meaning of real living experiences and to understand them from an impoverished elderly’s viewpoint. I also applied the phenomenological approach in this study, the function of which is to realistically reflect meaning, attitude and feelings about these people’s experiences.
I conducted interviews using a total number of 16 participants. They were selected upon the following criterion sampling: the elderly aged 65 or over who are officially classified as a beneficiary of national fundamental livelihood security. I also took the following factors into consideration: gender, age, the type of housing in which they live and their ability to provide sufficient information about the lived experience of aging. I accumulated data through a series of pilot studies, in-depth interviews and participant-related surveys and completed a total of 50 in-depth interviews, with the interview time spanning over 36 hours and 33 minutes. Data analysis was accomplished using NVivo 2 (computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software) in accordance with the phenomenological research methods of Cloaizzi(1978).
The results are as follows:
The lived experience of aging of the poor elderly is divided into 4 categories, which are then divided into a total of 10 clusters of themes, and further ramified into a total of 29 themes.
The first category entitled 'A body approaching death' has two clusters of themes called 'Losing physical freedom' and 'Living with death.' The cluster of theme, 'Losing physical freedom,' includes in itself two themes: 'A withering body' and 'Having to lived with disease.' The other cluster, 'Living with death,' includes three themes: 'Approaching death,' 'Voluntarily preparing for death' and ‘Viewing life as a more difficult alternative to dying.’
The second category entitled ‘Dispirited thoughts’ has two clusters of themes called 'Losing the meaning of existence' and 'A lack of sense of belonging: solitary existence.' The cluster of theme, 'Losing the meaning of existence' includes three themes: 'A useless existence,' 'Having lost courage’ and ‘Feelings of inadequacy.' The other cluster, ‘A lack of sense of belonging: solitary existence,' includes the themes: 'Feelings of loneliness due to isolation’ and 'Feeling estranged.'
The third category entitled 'Living a hard life' has two clusters of themes called ‘Lamenting one’s past life' and ‘Living a wearisome life due to poverty.' The cluster of theme, ‘Lamenting one’s past life,' includes three themes: 'Failing to have lived a worthwhile life,' ‘Bewailing one’s lack of education’ and 'Having lived a harsh life.' The other cluster, 'Living a wearisome life due to poverty,' includes five themes: 'Minimal living expenses required for survival,' 'Being held in contempt and feeling despondent for being a low-income citizen,' 'Being treated discriminatingly in regards to health care services,' 'Alienation from friends' and 'Having to endure despite feeling unfairly done by.’
The fourth category called ‘Going with the flow of life' has four clusters of themes called 'Behaviors sustaining life quality,' 'Hoping for success in the lives of descendents,' 'Striving to live independently' and 'Accepting one’s fate in life.’ The cluster of theme, 'Behaviors sustaining life quality,' includes two themes: 'Controlling one's mind through religion' and 'Achieving a rewarding life through volunteer work.’ The second cluster, 'Hoping for success in the lives of descendents,' includes two themes: 'Feeling guilty for being a burden to one’s offspring' and 'Worries about one’s children and about grandchildren whose parents passed away.’ The third cluster of the theme, 'Trying to live independently,' includes five themes: 'Dealing with disease,' 'Taking care of one's body through exercise,' 'Keeping one's pride intact,' ‘Avoiding becoming a burden' and 'Actively searching for one's favorite pastime.' The fourth cluster, 'Accepting one’s fate in life,' includes two themes: 'Appreciating even small things,' and ‘Living a life according to my fate.’
The meaning of the lived experience of aging of the poor elderly can be outlined as follows:
Many of the impoverished elderly are at the point of losing control of their body as a result of physical collapse and diseases. They may feel close to death, lack ability to live a quality life and dwindling of courage, feel inadequate, lose the meaning of existence, lose a sense of belonging and have dispirited thoughts, lament their past lives and have to deal with various difficulties related to living an impoverished life. Regardless of these hardships, however, poor elderly people often sustain a worthwhile existence through religious beliefs and voluntary jobs. They also maintain positivity through trying to live an independent life despite difficulties, wishing their descendents’ success and reaching a level of maturity in which they appreciate that fate has allowed them to live to a ripe old age.
The results of this study reveal that, in regards to their physical and psychological state of health, poor elderly people do share common experiences of aging with the elderly above the poverty line, but the social conditions are obviously less favorable for those impoverished. In spite of this, however, many of the impoverished do manage to retain their pride, age independently, and demonstrate positive attitudes towards life in the context of Confucian culture, choosing not to live dependent, passive lives.
Based on the study results above, I presented welfare policies for the poor elderly as is outlined below:
In terms of public awareness the positive conception of the impoverished elderly is crucial, elderly living below the poverty line should consider welfare not a benefit but a right, and a gender-sensitive perspective is needed. In terms of social systems, the following tasks must be undertaken: activation of social participation in order to encourage independence and positivity among the elderly, achievement of modicum level of public assistance, consolidation of psychological-emotional assistance, implementation of death education programs and countermeasures for suicide prevention, enforcement of social security systems depending on life course perspective and the compilation of a welfare policy manual for the impoverished elderly.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 제1장 서론 = 1
• 제1절 연구의 필요성 = 1
• 제2절 연구의 목적과 방법 = 4
• 제2장 문헌고찰 = 6
• 제1절 노화에 대한 이해 = 6
• 1. 노화의 의미 = 6
• 2. 노화의 다양한 관점 = 8
• 1) 전통적인 노화의 관점 = 8
• 2) 새롭게 주목받는 노화의 관점 = 12
• 제2절 빈곤노인의 노화에 관한 이해 = 18
• 1. 빈곤노인의 정의 = 19
• 2. 빈곤노인과 노화 = 20
• 제3절 빈곤노인과 복지정책 = 24
• 제3장 연구방법 및 과정 = 29
• 제1절 현상학적 연구방법 = 29
• 제2절 연구과정 = 32
• 1. 연구자의 선이해 = 34
• 2. 연구참여자 선정 = 35
• 3. 자료수집 = 36
• 4. 윤리적 고려 = 39
• 5. 자료분석과정 = 40
• 6. 연구평가방법 = 44
• 제4장 연구결과 = 46
• 제1절 연구참여자의 일반적인 특성 = 46
• 제2절 빈곤노인의 노화경험의 의미 = 50
• 1. 죽음을 향하는 몸 = 52
• 2. 잦아지는 마음 = 60
• 3. 험한 인생살이 = 68
• 4. 삶의 끈을 지켜나가기 = 85
• 제5장 논의 및 제언 = 103
• 제1절 논의 : 빈곤노인의 노화경험의 특징 = 103
• 1. 함께 사는 병과 죽음 = 103
• 2. 외로움과 소외, 그리고 잃어감 = 105
• 3. 한탄과 고달픔 = 107
• 4. 순응적이나 독립적인 삶 = 110
• 제2절 제언 : 빈곤노인복지정책 = 114
• 1. 인식적 측면 = 114
• 2. 제도적 측면 = 116
• 제6장 결언 = 121
• 부록 1 면접질문지 = 124
• 부록 2 연구참여동의서 = 125
• 부록 3 현장일지 = 126
• 부록 4 NVivo 2에서 코딩하여 주제로 나타내기 = 127
• 참고문헌 = 128
• (Abstract) = 139