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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Social theory, aging and health and welfare professionals
— a Foucauldian 'toolkit' | | Author(s) | Jason L Powell |
| Journal title | Journal of Applied Gerontology, vol 28, no 6, December 2009 |
| Pages | pp 669-682 |
| Source | http://jag.sagepub.com |
| Keywords | Ageing process ; Health services ; Services ; Sociology, Social Science ; Theory. |
| Annotation | Health and welfare have emerged as pivotal drivers used to position the identities that older people adopt in contemporary Western societies. Both contain continually changing technologies that function to mediate relations between older people and care professionals. However, they also represent an increase in professional control that can be exerted on lifestyles in old age, and thus, the wider social meanings associated with that part of the life course. The article presents a theoretical analysis of gerontology based on a critical reading of the work of Michel Foucault. It identifies the interrelationship between managerialism and older people in terms of a conceptual toolkit of (a) "medical power," and (b) "assessment," "surveillance," and "resistance". The key point is that they are relevant in theorising power relations between health and welfare professionals and user groups such as older people. Nicholas Castle responds to this article with a commentary looking at practice implications (pp 683-684). He argues that there has been progress in care of older people in the last decade, and queries the use of "toolkit", given that there are very few tools in Powell's presentation. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-100301203 A |
| Classmark | BG: L: I: S: 4D |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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