Adaptation of Single Elderly Men in Day Care: The Process of Adapting to Day Care

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate how single elderly men in need of care adapted themselves to ambulatory rehabilitation (hereinafter called day care), with a focus on the process of adaptation, in order to find new ways of day care support. Eight single men aged 65 years or older were included in this study. The analysis using modified grounded theory approach (M-GTA) extracted 20 concepts, 6 sub-categories, and 2 categories. The results of this study revealed that elderly men adapted themselves to day care through the creation of environment: first, the environment in which they could spend their time calmly by “collecting the day care information”, “adjusting themselves”, “confirming the presence of reliable persons,” and “having a view on the life in day care”; second, the environment in which they had a pleasant feeling and purpose of life by “making friends” and “having fun”.