Older Adults’ Meaning-Making of Climate Change and Their Perceived Capacity for Action: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Objective: This study explored how community-dwelling older adults construct, interpret, and respond to climate change in their everyday lives, how they emotionally position themselves in relation to climate change, and how they perceive their capacity for action toward climate change.Materials and Methods: A qualitative design was employed. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with community-dwelling older adults in İzmir using purposive sampling. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed through inductive thematic analysis. Credibility was supported through data saturation and participant checking.Results: Four interrelated themes were identified: (a) understanding climate change, (b) future perceptions and intergenerational assessments, (c) experiencing climate events and coping processes, and (d) individual responsibility and adaptation practices. Climate change was primarily constructed through observable environmental changes, particularly heat and drought, and frequently framed as a future-oriented and intergenerational concern. Participants described emotional responses, including worry and anxiety, alongside embodied and daily-life impacts of climate events. Adaptation practices were largely household-based and conservation-oriented, motivated by responsibility toward society and future generations. Despite strong ethical concern, perceived structural agency remained limited.Conclusion: Findings suggest that climate change in later life is experienced as a multidimensional phenomenon intertwined with health, daily routines, and generational responsibility. Integrating older adults’ lived perspectives into climate-related public health strategies may support more age-sensitive and contextually grounded adaptation efforts.