Antecedents and Consequences of Grief in Iranian Older Adults: A Qualitative Study

Objectives The experience of losses and the resulting grief are more common in old age. Understanding and recognizing the antecedents and consequences of grief in old age is one of the requirements for the development of psychological interventions for older people. This research aims of explore the experience of Iranian older adults suffered from losses to identify the antecedents and consequences of grief in old age. Methods & Materials This is a qualitative study using the content analysis method with the participation of 16 older people aged 60-85, referring to the elderly day care centers or dwelling in urban parks of Tehran, Iran, who were selected using a purposeful sampling method and after reaching data saturation in semi-structured interviews. The data was collected between March to September 2023. Guba and Lincoln’s criteria were used to assess the trustworthiness of the data. Results Four categories of grief antecedents were identified: Loss of loved ones, loss of health, retirement, and regret for a life not lived. Also, three categories of grief consequences were extracted: Resilience, health-related problems, and socio-economic problems. Conclusion Grief in Iranian older adults is caused by different antecedents leading to resilience, health-related, and socio-economic problems. The results of this study can help the geriatric health care providers in Iran to better understand the experience of grief in older adults, and to carry out effective interventions to improve their health.