Keeping the older population and their informal carers healthy and independent using digital technology

A discourse analysis of local policy

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11201282
AutoresMaria Nilsson (0000-0003-1601-5533, Linnaeus University, autor de correspondencia), Stefan Andersson (0000-0001-5023-7493, Linnaeus University), Lennart Magnusson (0009-0000-8265-0944, Linnaeus University), Elizabeth Hanson (0000-0001-7609-4822, Linnaeus University)
Año2024
Volumen44
Número4
Páginas812-842
Fecha de publicación2024-04-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAgeing and Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0144-686X • E-ISSN: 1469-1779
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0144686x22000514
OpenAlexW4281554271
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas44

The general discourse in health and social care policy purports digital technology as necessary to meet growing demands for long-term care and health care as a result of an ageing population. This needs critical investigation since public policy influences people's health and wellbeing. This study aims to interrogate critically what we call the ‘digital technology solution’ discourse in local Swedish health and social care policies. The main concern of our analysis is the discursive constructions of older people and their informal carers and how the concept of health is constructed. A discourse analysis was conducted of 61 local policy documents using the ‘What's the Problem Represented to Be’ method. Our analysis revealed that so-called ‘e-health strategies’ were rarely concerned with health. Health was often referred to as an activity and seen as a means to achieve independence among older people. The norm advocated independence, with the responsibility placed upon the older person, supported by digital technology. Informal carers were constructed as a resource within an older person's environment and largely taken for granted. We argue that the digital solution discourse ignores older people's agency and capacities as contributors to society, not least with regards to being providers of informal care

Active ageing · Agency (philosophy) · Critical discourse analysis · Discourse analysis · Health care · Independence (probability theory) · Norm (philosophy) · Older people · Political science · Population · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Chronic Disease Management Strategies · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Gerontology