'They're just who they've always been': The intersections of dementia, community and selfhood in Scottish care homes

MULLAY, S., SCHOFIELD, Patricia, CLARKE, A. and PRIMROSE, W. (2018). 'They're just who they've always been': The intersections of dementia, community and selfhood in Scottish care homes. Ageing and Society, 38 (5), 1063-1082.

Preview

PDF 78074495.pdf - Accepted Version All rights reserved. Download (335kB) | Preview

Abstract

© Cambridge University Press 2017. Issues stemming from differences and similarities in cultural identities affect residents and workforces in care homes in Scotland, as they do across the United Kingdom. Theoretical guidance and policy drivers emphasise the importance of considering cultural diversity when planning or enacting person-centred care processes, regardless of where health or social care takes place. Nevertheless, there is a recognised worldwide dearth of research concerning the intersections of culture, dementia and long-term care. This being so, a recent research study found that inadequate understandings of issues stemming from cultural diversity could be seen to constrain person-centred care in some Scottish care homes. In addition, the study uncovered little-recognised socio-cultural phenomena which were observed to positively enhance person-centre care. This article will focus on that, and will lay out findings from the study which lead to the following broad assertion: there is a broad lack of understanding of the power, and potential utility, of shared identity and community as a bulwark against the erosion of personhood which is often associated with dementia. This article describes these findings in some detail, thereby providing fresh insights into how shared cultural identity, and the sense of community it may bring, bears upon the interactions between workers and residents with dementia in Scottish care homes. It then suggests how the school of 'person-centred care' may be developed through further research into these phenomena.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Gerontology; 15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services; 16 Studies in Human Society; 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X16001446
Page Range:	1063-1082
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Elements
Depositing User:	Symplectic Elements
Date Deposited:	19 Nov 2020 16:14
Last Modified:	17 Mar 2021 20:17
URI:	https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27325

Actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads

Publication Metrics