A Thematic Analysis of Speech Self-Awareness in the Community-Dwelling Elderly

Abstract

Objectives: A self-report is often used to measure one’s own problems and related quality of life. With typical ageing, speech may change and can restrict activity and participation. The purpose of this study is to explore themes in speech self-awareness reports stated by the community-dwelling older adults through a thematic analysis. Methods: We interviewed 76 older persons (men:women=23:53, mean age=73.19±8.54) from three senior community centers in Seoul. The participants described the changes in speech and the related activity limitations and participation restrictions by responding to the survey items; “Have you perceived any changes in your speech in the last year?” and “Does your speech cause any inconvenience in your daily life?”. Thematic analysis using the NVivo 12 program was done based on the responses of the participants. Results: Four main themes and 16 subthemes emerged from the analysis; and the main themes included ‘characteristics of changes,’ ‘causes of changes,’ ‘activity limitations and participation restrictions due to changes,’ and ‘solutions to changes’ in speech. Conclusion: We observed that older persons experience changes in speech with diverse characteristics and that most of them consider these to be the result of ageing. They experience activity and participation problems and make an effort to resolve them. The main themes and subthemes could be served as key concepts upon providing intervention and/ or preventive education regarding geriatric speech problems.