Centre for Policy on Ageing
 

 

Orally positioning persons with dementia in assessment meetings
Author(s)Johannes H Osterholm, Christina Samuelsson
Journal titleAgeing and Society, vol 35, no 2, February 2015
PublisherCambridge University Press, February 2015
Pagespp 367-388
Sourcejournals.cambridge.org/aso
KeywordsDementia ; Ageism ; Assessment procedures for mental patients ; Sweden.
AnnotationThe authors study if and how people with dementia are orally positioned by others, and how they position themselves while participating in assessment meetings held in order to discuss access to supportive services. The authors analysed five assessment meetings where two older people (one diagnosed with dementia and one without a dementia diagnosis) participated to investigate whether the person with dementia is positioned differently than the other old person. Interactional phenomena used to position the person with dementia were identified by interactional analysis. Six phenomena that positioned the person with dementia as an individual with less interactional competence than the other participants were identified: ignoring the person with dementia; voicing the feelings, capacity or opinion of the person with dementia; posing questions implying lack of competence; others' use of diagnosis; self-(re)positioning; and elderspeak. People with dementia are often orally positioned as less competent, indicating that they suffer further from discrimination than other older persons. The authors suggest that this has an impact on the participation of people with dementia in negotiations regarding their future care. The results indicate that social workers should be made aware that negative positioning exists, and how it may affect the ability of people with dementia to contribute to discussions about their everyday life. Social workers should be encouraged to find strategies to reduce negative positioning in interaction. (RH).
Accession NumberCPA-150623008 A
ClassmarkEA: B:TOB: DA:4C: 76P

Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.
 

CPA home >> Ageinfo Database >> Queries to: webmaster@cpa.org.uk