Subjectivities and social suffering of elderly women with chronic illnesses who live alone: An ethnographic study in one Southern Thai rural community

Abstract

The number of elderly women with chronic illnesses who live alone (EWCA) is rising due to rapid development and socio-demographic changes. Elderly women living alone may face higher risks of unmet need care, social isolation, and loneliness, which can have detrimental effects on mental and physical health. This research aims to study the subjectivities and illness experiences of elderly women living alone with chronic diseases in a rural area in Southern Thailand. The ethnographic fieldwork by a researcher living in the community for 15 months was conducted. The researcher collected data through fieldwork observation, ethnographic interviews, narrative interviews, engaging social and cultural activities with the elderly women and field note-taking. The purposive sampling strategy was employed, incorporating 10 EWCA along with 13 healthcare workers and community members, to ensure a comprehensive understanding and insight data to reach the objectives of the study. Content analysis and illness narrative analysis were used to analyze qualitative data. The key findings in this study were as follows: (1) EWCA’s subjectivities consisted of positive subjectivities such as considering oneself to be valuable to children and a community, being able to earn a living, preserving religious culture, and letting go of control over life. Negative subjectivities were also found to make one feel lonely, miserable about one’s
destiny, and miserable by one’s children; (2) experiences of social suffering of EWCA consisted of Western medicine provided and structural violence in the government.