Media Needs of the Elderly: A Phenomenological Study

Identifying the media needs of the elderly is essential for effective policymaking and planning to achieve healthy aging. Therefore, this research aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the media needs of the elderly based on their lived experiences.

the phenomenological method was used with purposive sampling. Thirty-four elderly people aged 60 to 75 years participated in semi-structured interviews in the city of Isfahan in the year 1403. Following the data collection, theColaizzi method was employed for analysis. The validity of the data was confirmed by the techniques of variability, reliability and alignment of researchers.

After extracting and classifying the data, seven main themes including imagery, culturalization, representation based on well-being, content creation, communication enhancement, skill enhancement and spirituality enhancement were revealed. These main themes encompassed 22 sub-themes, including environmental, service, supervisory, financial, therapeutic, psychological, reducing generational gaps, acceptance of elderly care homes, self-efficacy, self-care, biography writing, vitality, information enhancement, information exchange, filling leisure time, reflecting challenges, strengthening, improving and facilitating communication, enhancement of skills and spiritual intelligence.

The breadth of concepts related to the media needs of the elderly indicates the necessity for policymaking, planning, and action by media people to direct governmental and civil organizations toward addressing those needs and assisting the elderly in achieving healthy aging.
Keywords: need, media, elderly, phenomenology.