Patterns of proactive health behaviours among community-dwelling older adults with multimorbidity: a qualitative study

Abstract

Abstract Objective This study aimed to explore and systematically describe the patterns of proactive health behaviours among community-dwelling older adults with multimorbidity, with the findings intended to inform the subsequent development of a population-specific measurement instrument. Design A qualitative descriptive research design was adopted, and data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis informed by Braun and Clarke’s six-phase approach. Setting A community health centre and its affiliated stations in Shanghai, China. Participants 21 community-dwelling older adults aged 60 years or older with two or more chronic conditions were recruited using purposive sampling. Results Four overarching themes characterising proactive health behaviours were identified: (1) proactive lifestyle management, (2) proactive disease self-management, (3) proactive information and health-resource seeking and (4) proactive emotional and stress management. Across these domains, participants described self-initiated, anticipatory and adaptive actions that supported everyday health management across multiple chronic conditions. Conclusions This study identified four domains of proactive health behaviours among community-dwelling older adults with multimorbidity. The findings provide an empirical basis for the subsequent item generation and the development of a population-specific measure of proactive health behaviour.