Objective: Sweden and Sudan represent different forms of family and societal structures. Nevertheless, elderly with or without mental deficiency in either countries have to develop coping strategies in order to be able to handle life. His/her coping patterns interact with the family and other close persons. The aim of this paper was to contribute to the understanding of social support and coping among elderly individuals in Sudan and Sweden.
Design: A cross-cultural, semi-structured interview study.
Materials and Methods: A group of 91 Swedish elderly individuals (26% men) were included in the study, the age range was 68 – 102. The elderly were living alone in their homes, but had some contacts with their children, relatives or friends. In most cases children were not living nearby and the only means of communication was through phone calls. They were receiving some home services. The interviews were done in their homes. Interviews were conducted in Sudan with a group of 42 elderly individuals (24% men) in an out-skirt area of Khartoum. The subjects were illiterate, only five males had some sort of adult education, varying between one and four years. The subjects living in this area came from different parts of Sudan with different backgrounds, different ethnic groups and different religions. Most of the Sudanese elderly were living with their families or their relatives. Interviews were held in the Red Crescent Health Center. The subjects were asked to participate in the study through oral and/or written consent, thereafter interviews were conducted with the subjects during one to two hours, using a variety of instruments. The elderly subjects were tested with the coping wheel using the three forms for the past, present and future activities that the elderly used or are using or are intending to use. They were also asked to answer the social support questionnaire (AVAT, AVSI). The statistical difference between the two elderly groups was first tested for all the coping variables and for AVAT and AVSI with non-parametric statistics (Mann Whitney U-test). Two-way ANOVA and Spearman rank correlation were also used.
Results: Recorded age and "Present emotion" scores were significantly higher in the Swedish than in the Sudanese sample. There was no difference between the samples with regard to gender."Past and future control", and AVSI and AVAT scores were significantly higher in the Sudanese than in the Swedish sample. The Spearman rank correlations between scores and age were significant for past and future control and AVSI scores.
Conclusion: The two groups of elderly persons in Sweden and Sudan were comparable as to gender distribution. Coping and social structure were more developed in Sudan than in Sweden.
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