Serenity in old age

Serenity is a "sine qua non" an able to understand and act in life situations - a prerequisite for improving quality of life. We propose a multidisciplinary approach to explore a new measurable outcome, serenity, to promote mental well-being and implement the results in elder care. The project started as a collaboration between Halmstad University College and Örebro University with the aim to gain a deeper understanding of how the older person can be supported to achieve serenity in old age. A first thesis reported the importance of obtaining emotional support to experience serenity and that nurses can have difficulties identifying emotional needs. This can lead to the absence of emotional support and a sense of serenity and the risk for further illness among older persons. The work continues in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the importance of serenity in the promotion of mental wellbeing in old age. A conceptual analysis was made and systematic reviews will be performed in order to attain a multidisciplinary consensus and the development of a standardized and valid instrument that measures serenity in a European context. Several intervention studies are planned that will focus on the emotional support given to older persons by multi-professional teams. Underlying factors for serenity such as gut health, earlier life experiences and happenings and technical solutions will be studied. The work will be accomplished in collaboration with the University of Eastend London (UEL), England; Buskerud and Vestfold University College (BVUC),Norway; Escola d'Infermeria, Autònoma University (UA), Barcelona, Spain and Örebro University (ORU), Sweden. We will evaluate our results in collaboration with the Danish Technological Institute (DTI), Denmark and Queen Margret University (QMU), Scotland. The results will be implemented in the municipal care of four countries through action research.