Sr. Letty G.

Kuan
THEORY OF
RETIREMENT AND
ROLE DISCONTINUITIES
OR
THEORY OF GRACEFUL
AGING
BIOGRAPHY

 Born on November 19, 1936 in Katipunan-Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte

 Master Degree in Nursing and Guidance and Counseling
 She also holds a Doctoral degree in Education
 Has a vast contribution to the University of the Philippines College of
Nursing Faculty and Academic achievements
 She was a Professor Emeritus a title awarded only to a few who met the
strict criteria
BIOGRAPHY

 She has two Masters Degree, M.A in Nursing and M.S in

Education, major in Guidance and Counseling, culminating in
Doctor of Education(Guidance and Counseling).
 Has a Clinical Fellowship and Specialization in
Neuropsychology in University of Paris, France(Salpetriere
Hospital)
 Neurogerontology in Watertown, New York (Good Samaritan
Hospital) and Syracuse University, New York.
BIOGRAPHY

 She also had Bioethics formal training at Institute of Religion, Ethics and
Law at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.
 She authored several books giving her insight in the areas of Gerontology,
Care of Older Persons and Bioethics.
 She is a recipient of the Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Teachers
Award in 1995 and an Award for Continuing Integrity and Excellence in
Service (ACIES) in 2004.
 Her religious community is the Notre Dame de Vie founded in France in
1932.
 As a former member of the Board of Nursing, her legacy to the Nursing
Community is without a doubt, indisputable.
 RETIREMENT A ROLE DISCONTINUITIES
THEORY BACKGROUND

RETIREMENT
• an inevitable change in one’s life. It is evident in the increasing statistics of
aging population accompanied by related disabilities and increased
dependence. – this developmental stage, even at later part of life, must be
considered desirable and satisfying through the determination of factors that
will help the person enjoy his remaining years of life.
• It is of primary importance to prepare early in life by culminating other role
pf options at age 50-60 in order to have a rewarding retirement period even
amidst the presence of role discontinuities experienced by this age group.
RETIREMENT A ROLE DISCONTINUITIES
THEORY BACKGROUND

ROLE
• the self of shared expectations focused upon a particular position. These may include
beliefs about what goals or values the

• position incumbent is to pursue and the norms that will govern his behavior.
• set shared expectations from the retiree’s socialization experiences and the values
internalized while preparing for the position as well as the adaptations to the
expectations socially defined for the position itself.

• For every social role there is complementary set of roles in the social structure among
which interaction constantly occurs.
RETIREMENT A ROLE DISCONTINUITIES
THEORY BACKGROUND

ROLE DISCONTINUITIES
• The interruption in the line of status enjoyed or performed. The
interruption may be brought about by an accident, emergency, and
change of position or retirement.
 CONCEPTUAL MODEL

RETIREMENT
AND ROLE
DISCONTINUITIE
S
DETERMINANTS POSITIVE PERCEPTION IN
RETIREMENT AND POSITIVE REACTIONS TOWARD
ROLE DISCONTINUITIES:

 Health Status – physiological and mental state of the respondents, classified

as either sickly or healthy.
 Income – financial affluence of the respondent which can be classified as
poor, moderate, or rich.
 Work Status – status of an individual according to job/source of income
 Family Constellation – type of family composition describe either close knit
or extended family where three or more generations of family members live
under on roof; or distanced family, whose members live in separate dwelling
units; or nuclear type of family where only husband, wifeand children live
together.
 Self-Preparation – preparation of self to the possible outcomes in life.
Change of Life – the period between near retirement
and post-retirement years. In medico-physiological
terms, this equates with the climacteric period of
adjustment and readjustment to another tempo of life
 METAPARADIGM
PERSON
• (Elderly) – is a classification of age froup to any person reaching the mid 70’s up to the
80’s
• (Gerone) – given to people who are old but gracefully able to function as useful citizens
at home and in the community and an exemplar in fidelity to prayer life.

Nursing
• Is preparing the person to have fulfilment in their retirement years, and assisting them in
their elderly years in leaving a legacy.
 METAPARADIGM
ENVIRONMENT
• Society that supports the aged to feel needed

Health
• Defined as aging. It is a slow process of growth towards maturity of mind, body, and spirit.
Growing old is reaching a “happy plateau” but one must understand and accept what is
aging. It brings a decreasing amount of energy over long periods of activities; hence
slowing down and moderation in our activity involvement is one reality of aging we all
must realize and accept it is a fact to reckon with that what is desirable is to feel
comfortable with one’s age and never should one aspire to become caricatures of either age
or youth.
• Aging is a reality and must be accepted as a process towards fulfillment of a total self.
Developing positive attitudes towards aging while still young contributes a great deal to
feeling comfortable while growing old.
• Graceful aging leads the person in leaving a legacy. Legacy is influenced by elements of
life early imprints and the factors of the aging process. Surviving the struggles and crisis in
life enables the person to leave a legacy.
 ASSERTIONS
• Aging Process is Dependent upon Many Factors:
• Healthy genetic background
• Happy, Fulfilled, childhood foundation
• Successful middle aged life experience
• Healthy surroundings
• Relaxation
• Recreation and nutrition
 ASSERTIONS
• Had been recipient of being recognized, appreciated and honored with love
• Has attained a mastery of knowing oneself and a mastery of a skill, in any
category so long as the person feels recognized and appreciated for the
contribution done to self, family, community and society.
• Grows closer to divine worship regardless of religious affiliation: the person
is attuned to God who is all goodness, kindness, humility and love.
• Connectedness with others, it is a big social support that makes life worth
living for.
 ASSERTIONS
Elements of Life’s Early Imprints

• Importance of Love

• The hug-factor

• Good parental and sibling modelling roles

• The sense of humour and relaxation

• The value of work and prayer life, growing close to God who loves us
tremendously
 ASSERTIONS
Application: Clinical Perspective
• After establishing nurse-patient relationship, nurses need to assess the aged’s
health status, economic level, work status , family constellation, and self-
preparation. Nurses gather information of their developmental stages of life such
as childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and their present state. We facilitate them
in identifying their needs that influences the factors in the aging process. Once
they identified their needs and are motivated to survive their struggles and crisis
in life, nurses work with them towards their goal to attain graceful aging that
makes them a useful citizen in the home and community leaving legacy.
 “I have grown and sown and now I
can reap the reward and blessing of a
life lived in joy and love, for I too
have made others grow.”
-Prof. Letty G. Kuan, RN, RGC, EdD
 GROUP 7
Karl Fellip Oñate
Bjorn Austine Odog
Maril Martinez Natividad
Nelia Balneg Padios
Lovely Mae Martinito