The aim of the study was to describe the activities that 75-year-old men and women indicate as most important and to reveal why they find them important.
The data were derived from a cross-sectional study of 748 Danish 75-year-old men and women, born in 1914. The people were interviewed at home by means of a questionnaire. The most important activity was revealed by an open-ended question: what is your most important activity? The answers were classified into three qualities: type, site and social relations. The participants were asked if the activity was important because it gave enjoyment, self-confidence, challenges, company, cooperation, usefulness, new skills and/or new experiences.
A majority of the participants reported physical and individual activities as the most important and the reasons given by most participants for stating their activity as most important were work enjoyment and usefulness. It was concluded that attention should be paid to older people's possibilities for having important activities.
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