Ageing... a new beginning?

The objectives of the study were to describe and analyse older adults’ perception of their ageing process. Eight older adults from Trujillo-Peru participated. The research concepts were: Hume’s perception, older adults according to the World Health Organisation and theories of ageing. Qualitative research, descriptive method using the semi-structured interview technique. The results revealed two categories: I. Giving new meaning to my life, with subcategories: Loss of physical and mental capacities and emotional instability and acceptance vs. rejection of the ageing process. II. Sharing my ageing, subcategories: (un)satisfying family experiences during ageing; (un)satisfying social experiences during ageing and religious support for life/death. The research reveals that the perception of older adults regarding their ageing process is dominated by the loss of physical capacities; most of them show acceptance of the process; most of their family and social experiences are satisfactory and all of them perceive religious support during their ageing.