TY - JOUR
T1 - Care and the shadow of the fourth age
T2 - How does home care get caught up in it and how does it stay away from it?
AU - José, José Manuel Sousa de São
N1 - info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/5876/147304/PT#
UID/SOC/04647/2013
PY - 2018/9
Y1 - 2018/9
N2 - This article examines how care encounters at the elders' homes are forged, and how the way these encounters are forged avoids or evokes the social imaginary of the fourth age. Data were gathered in Portugal from elders receiving home care (16 cases), their care workers (eight cases) and family carers (six cases), through participant observation and informal conversations (conducted at the elders' homes), as well as focus groups. The collected data were analysed according to the procedures of Framework Analysis. This study found five forms of care encounters - marked by conflict, infantilisation, burden, harmony and indifference - the harmony form being the only one found to maintain the fourth age at a distance. It concludes that home care has a Janus-like nature in relation to the fourth age, and that the way home care encounters are forged depends on the conditions of the care settings and the actions of all participants in care encounters. It also concludes that it is difficult to maintain the social imaginary of the fourth age at a distance when the elders exhibit high levels of infirmity. Finally, it concludes that family carers play a crucial role in the way care encounters unfold. Implications for practice and policy include vocational training regarding the relational component of care, and information and educational programmes for family carers.
AB - This article examines how care encounters at the elders' homes are forged, and how the way these encounters are forged avoids or evokes the social imaginary of the fourth age. Data were gathered in Portugal from elders receiving home care (16 cases), their care workers (eight cases) and family carers (six cases), through participant observation and informal conversations (conducted at the elders' homes), as well as focus groups. The collected data were analysed according to the procedures of Framework Analysis. This study found five forms of care encounters - marked by conflict, infantilisation, burden, harmony and indifference - the harmony form being the only one found to maintain the fourth age at a distance. It concludes that home care has a Janus-like nature in relation to the fourth age, and that the way home care encounters are forged depends on the conditions of the care settings and the actions of all participants in care encounters. It also concludes that it is difficult to maintain the social imaginary of the fourth age at a distance when the elders exhibit high levels of infirmity. Finally, it concludes that family carers play a crucial role in the way care encounters unfold. Implications for practice and policy include vocational training regarding the relational component of care, and information and educational programmes for family carers.
KW - care encounters
KW - fourth age
KW - home care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85055104239&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S0144686X18001241
DO - 10.1017/S0144686X18001241
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85055104239
SP - 1
EP - 20
JO - Ageing and Society
JF - Ageing and Society
SN - 0144-686X
ER -