Social Isolation, Body-Image and Oral Health Among Elder Women

Objectives: Oral health of elders in residential care (RC) facilities is generally poor, but to what extent it affects their body-image and social behaviours is unknown. A positive body-image increases social contacts and improves health, well-being and quality of life. Literature on relationships between body-image among elder women is emerging but does not explore the role of oral health. The objective of this study was to begin to investigate the relationship between social interactions, overall body image and oral health among elder women who reside in a RC facility.

Methods: Open-ended interviews with a purposefully selected group of elder women were conducted and the narratives analyzed using a constant comparative method involving an iterative technique. A second interview with the participants was conducted to check trustworthiness of my interpretations.

Results: Four themes emerged; 1) social interactions and the influence of environment; 2) body-image in relation to health and social context; 3) the importance of a “nice smile”; and 4) priorities in life and health.

Conclusions: Relationships between social isolation, body-image and oral health among institutionalized elder women can have multiple influences that depend on life-priorities. The information that emerged from the interviews did not reach saturation which indicated that more interviews were needed to conclude this phase of the study. Further study is underway with a larger more diverse sample of elder women to expand the context in which these observations occur.