Older adults’ experiences of being at a senior summer camp—A phenomenographic study

Abstract

Senior summer camps are arranged by more and more municipalities in Sweden with the purpose of creating a place where older adults can meet and mitigate their social isolation. The aim of the study is to understand, from their own point of view, how the participants experienced senior summer camp. A phenomenographic approach was used to surface the older adults’ experiences and analyze the data. Three descriptive categories evolved: “A pleasant environment to be in”, “Something to do for everyone” and “Breaking one’s loneliness”. Findings from this study suggest that just getting away, not having to cook, seeing and experiencing something else, and having company when eating food or doing activities meant a lot to the participants, who all have different experiences of loneliness. Knowing that other people were lonely made the participants at the senior summer camp realize that they were not to blame for their loneliness.