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A gendered lifecourse examination of sleep difficulties among older women

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dc.contributor.authorWalker, R.
dc.contributor.authorLuszcz, M.
dc.contributor.authorHislop, J.
dc.contributor.authorMoore, V.
dc.date.issued2012
dc.description.abstractRecent research has suggested that understanding and addressing the high prevalence of sleep difficulties in older women requires going beyond a purely physiological focus to address the role of social contextual pressures and demands. We take a gendered lifecourse approach to explore how sleep difficulties have evolved and how their management might reflect the position of older women in society more broadly. We conducted in-depth interviews with 12 oldest-old (average age 86) community-dwelling women who currently experienced sleep difficulties. Five themes emerged from the analysis : significant life stages ; contingent lives ; daily concerns in relation to ageing; attitudes and responses of women and general practitioners ; and stigma and sleeping pills, which provided a conceptual framework through which to explain the reality of sleep difficulties for these women. For all women, sleep difficulties were not related to physical aspects such as pain or discomfort, but were largely shaped by demands associated with family relationships at different times in the lifecourse. Furthermore, our findings suggest that responses by women themselves, and health professionals, reflect a sense of stigma around sleep difficulties and use of sleeping pills. More emphasis on the social contextual explanations underpinning sleep difficulties might lead to better prevention and treatment of such problems, and increase quality of life.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityRuth B. Walker, Mary A. Luszcz, Jenny Hislop and Vivienne Moore
dc.identifier.citationAgeing and Society, 2012; 32(2):219-238
dc.identifier.doi10.1017/S0144686X11000201
dc.identifier.issn0144-686X
dc.identifier.issn1469-1779
dc.identifier.orcidWalker, R. [0000-0002-5936-1068]
dc.identifier.orcidMoore, V. [0000-0001-9505-6450]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/69773
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherCambridge Univ Press
dc.rightsCopyright Cambridge University Press 2011
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x11000201
dc.subjectAgeing
dc.subjectgender
dc.subjectsleep
dc.subjectolder women
dc.subjectlifecourse
dc.subjectqualitative methods
dc.titleA gendered lifecourse examination of sleep difficulties among older women
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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