scholarly journals Introduction: Framing Exclusion from Services

Author(s):  
Veerle Draulans ◽  
Giovanni Lamura

AbstractThis part presents three specific examples of how old-age social exclusion can take place in the field of service provision. These contributions refer to the key areas of care, transportation and information communication technology (ICT) based solutions, which represent some of the sub-domains of service-related exclusion in later life that are most frequently cited in the literature (Walsh et al. 2017; ROSEnet Services Working Group 2020). Given the current demographic trends, the availability of suitable services has become crucial to ensure social cohesion and inclusiveness. Governments, be it on national or community levels, social profit organisations and commercial companies offer a huge variety of services aimed at making people’s lives easier and more comfortable. In order to better contextualise the contributions presented in this part, this chapter will provide an overview of old-age service exclusion in general, highlighting in particular macro- and micro-level considerations. It will then briefly introduce each contribution.

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friederike Enßle ◽  
Ilse Helbrecht

Abstract This article aims to enhance the conceptual debate on diversity in old age by exploring the interplay of diversity in later life and images of old age. We argue that the analysis of images of old age on the micro-level is a fruitful methodology in order to unravel the meaning of diversity in later life. Drawing on findings from qualitative research in Berlin, we explore how new and diverse imaginations, experiences and lifestyles of old age emerge. The conceptual focus on images of old age enables us to investigate further what diversity in later life comprises and how it simultaneously fosters the genesis of new images of old age. The manifold new images we found in our research suggest that prevalent societal discourses about old age on the macro-level are rather deceptive and represent mostly stereotypes such as ‘active agers’ or ‘frail and dependent elders’. We offer three explanations why alternative images of old age are currently barely present in public discourse: (a) the actors transmitting images of age; (b) the institutionalisation of the images; and (c) the challenge to communicate complexity. We conclude by suggesting that images of old age are a promising starting point to explore and make visible both the diversity of social groups within the older generation as well as the heterogeneity of older individuals.


Author(s):  
Tine Buffel ◽  
Samuèle Rémillard-Boilard ◽  
Kieran Walsh ◽  
Bernard McDonald ◽  
An-Sofie Smetcoren ◽  
...  

Developing ‘Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (AFCC)’ has become a key part of policies aimed at improving the quality of life of older people in urban areas. Despite this development, there is evidence of rising inequalities among urban elders, and little known about the potential and limitations of the age-friendly model to reduce old-age exclusion. This article addresses this research gap by comparing how Brussels, Dublin, and Manchester, as three members of the Global Network of AFCC, have responded to social exclusion in later life. The article combines data from document analysis and stakeholder interviews to examine: first, the age-friendly approach and the goal of reducing social exclusion; and second, barriers to developing age-friendly policies as a means of addressing exclusion. The paper suggests that there are reciprocal benefits in linking age-friendly and social exclusion agendas for producing new ways of combatting unequal experiences of ageing in cities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S803-S803
Author(s):  
Sinead Keogh ◽  
Stephen O’ Neill ◽  
Kieran Walsh

Abstract The measurement of the complex, multidimensional and dynamic concept of old-age social exclusion has been constrained due to theoretical and methodological challenges as well as a reliance on secondary data sources not designed to collect social exclusion indicators. Limitations in measuring social exclusion in later life hinder the expansion of our empirical and conceptual understanding of social exclusion. In this paper, we seek to address these limitations by developing a composite measure of old-age social exclusion using three methods: 1) normalisation through re-scaling with linear aggregation, 2) a sum-of-scores approach with an applied threshold and, 3) classification and regression trees (CART), a machine learning approach. Using the conceptual framework of old-age exclusion presented by Walsh et al., (2017), these three approaches are applied empirically with data from Wave 1 of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). The measures are assessed in terms of their ability to explain a validated measure of psychological well-being. Results suggest that despite the challenges associated with secondary data and measurement techniques that implicitly measure social exclusion, the newly proposed composite measure computed using CART performed better than the other two measures which are more prevalent in the literature.


Author(s):  
Vera Gallistl

AbstractCultural exclusion in older age is conceptually under-developed and empirically under-explored. This results in a lack of knowledge concerning the mechanisms through which cultural exclusion is produced and the policy instruments that support cultural inclusion in later life. This article explores how cultural practice changes in old age and how these changes associate with old-age social exclusion. Cultural participation comprises (a) going-out, (b) home-bound and (c) identity-culture. These domains are explored with survey data (n = 1000) of Austrians aged 60 years and older.Results suggest shifting cultural practice later in life, from public to private spaces, and three clusters of cultural participants (Omnivore, Univore-Television (TV), Univore-Entertainment), which differ in their cultural practice, social status, and taste preferences. Univores-TV are typically involved in home-bound cultural practices, most likely to be socially excluded, and show the highest appreciation of folk art. Disengagement from public cultural spaces is, hence, more prevalent among socially marginalised groups with folk tastes.Gerontology needs to problematize older adults’ exclusion from cultural practice as a matter of spatial and taste marginalisation. In order to build more age-inclusive cultures across Europe, policy should address the diversity of older adults’ cultural participation and provide support in bringing marginalised practices to public spaces.


Author(s):  
Sandra Torres

AbstractThe topic of old-age social exclusion has received increased attention as studies that measure the prevalence of this multidimensional phenomenon have shown its spread across countries; see Ogg (2005) who focuses on Europe, Hrast et al. (2013) who considers Central and Eastern Europe, and Macleod et al. (2019) who measure exclusion in the UK. The three chapters that belong to this section pay specific attention to two of the domains which Walsh et al. (2017) refer to as civic participation and socio-cultural aspects in their framework on exclusion in later life. In this book, we refer to them as civic exclusion [see Walsh et al. this volume]. It is worth noting that this domain has received the least scholarly attention so far within the literature (van Regenmortel et al. 2016; Walsh et al. 2017), even though there is clear evidence that civic engagement and socio-cultural aspects of exclusion can have an impact on self-rated health (Poortinga 2006). Thus, the purpose of the chapter is to offer an abridged introduction to the topic of civic exclusion in later life in order to offer context to the three chapters in this section.


GeroPsych ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva-Marie Kessler ◽  
Catherine E. Bowen

Both psychotherapists and their clients have mental representations of old age and the aging process. In this conceptual review, we draw on available research from gerontology, social and developmental psychology, and communication science to consider how these “images of aging” may affect the psychotherapeutic process with older clients. On the basis of selected empirical findings we hypothesize that such images may affect the pathways to psychotherapy in later life, therapist-client communication, client performance on diagnostic tests as well as how therapists select and apply a therapeutic method. We posit that interventions to help both older clients and therapists to reflect on their own images of aging may increase the likelihood of successful treatment. We conclude by making suggestions for future research.


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