PRIMARY HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS’ PERCEPTIONS OF OLDER ADULTS: A METAPHOR ANALYSIS

Objective: Perceptions of older adults among health professionals may influence the quality of health care and interactions within health services. Understanding how older adults are conceptualized by primary health care professionals is therefore important for developing age-friendly health practices. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of primary health care professionals regarding older adults through metaphor analysis.Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using a phenomenological approach. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 38 primary health care professionals working in Family Health Centers in a province located in the eastern region of Türkiye. Participants were asked to complete the statement “An older adult is like … because …”. The metaphors produced by participants were analyzed using content analysis and grouped into categories according to their conceptual similarities.Results: Participants generated 38 metaphors, which were grouped under three main categories: Care Dependency and Frailty (f=17), Wisdom and Social Value (f=15), and Strength and Reassurance (f=6). Among the metaphors identified, “child” (f=9) and “plane tree” (f=6) were the most frequently expressed. The findings revealed that primary health care professionals conceptualized older adults through multidimensional and sometimes contrasting perspectives. While frailty-centered metaphors reflected perceptions of dependency, vulnerability, and care needs, other methapors emphasized older adults’ experience, wisdom, and emotionally reassuring roles within families and society.Conclusion: The findings indicate that perceptions of older adults among primary health care professionals are multidimensional and shaped by both vulnerability-oriented and value-oriented perspectives. Recognizing these perceptions may help support more respectful, person-centered, and age-friendly approaches in primary health care practice. Educational, institutional, and policy initiatives promoting age-sensitive, respectful, and autonomy-supportive approaches in primary health care may be recommended.