Introduction:

The number of older adults undergoing chronic dialysis treatment, either hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, is increasing considerably. Linking the study of generativity and self-care with aging in dialysis promotes a positive outlook on old age and the experience of living with chronic illness on dialysis. This approach not only helps to promote and facilitate specific self-care practices among older adults on dialysis but also highlights the positive impact that the generative attitude of older individuals has on society.

Objectives:

To describe the experience of self-care in chronic illness among older adults on dialysis. To explore how generativity can influence and give meaning to the experience of living with dialysis.

Materials and Method:

Narrative-biographical research utilizing the Life Stories of the individuals under investigation.

Results:

In the Life Stories of older adults, generativity has been practiced in the past through caring for children, and sick relatives, and civic involvement in political and social change, and they wish to preserve that past as a generative legacy. However, it is also expressed in the present through their will and determination for self-care. The generative attitude during this stage of living with dialysis is directly focused on their self-care.

Conclusions:

Personal self-care becomes a generative act that enables older adults on dialysis to confront the various losses experienced during the journey of chronic illness on dialysis with a sense of autonomy.

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