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Promoting independence

But promoting what and how

Bibliographic Data

ID11200616
AuthorsJenny Secker (Anglia Ruskin University), Robert Hill (0000-0002-7483-9701), Robert D Hill (0000-0001-9820-9328, King's College London), LOUISE VILLENEAU (King's College London), SUE PARKMAN (King's College London)
Year2003
Volume23
Issue3
Pages375-391
Publication date2003-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAgeing and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0144-686X • E-ISSN: 1469-1779
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0144686x03001193
OpenAlexW2103526000
LanguageEN
Citations received45
References cited8

‘Promoting independence’ is a central theme of recent United Kindgdom health and social care policy development but is rarely defined. Instead it is generally assumed that we know what independence means. Based on a review of the literature on independence in older age, this paper examines the terms and meanings. While the most common conceptualisation equates independence with the absence of reliance on others, for older people themselves independence is a broader concept that encompasses not only self-reliance but also self-esteem, self-determination, purpose in life, personal growth and continuity of the self. Drawing on previous work in the field of health promotion, we therefore put forward a model that takes older people's views into account and that reconceptualises independence as two intersecting dimensions representing levels of dependence and levels of independence. While dependence equates with reliance on others, independence can be seen as subjectively self-assessed lived experience. Thus it becomes possible to combine high levels of dependence with high levels of experienced or felt independence, a particularly pertinent combination for service providers. Finally we examine the ways in which independence thus conceptualised can be promoted at the individual, institutional, community and societal levels

Independence (probability theory) · Political science · Politics · Promotion (chess) · Public relations · Sociology · Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes · Health disparities and outcomes · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Law · Mathematics · Psychology · Social Psychology

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Unique citing works45
Citations per year2,14
Citation span2005 - 2025 (21)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 41
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