Home, Independence and Community Care

Time for a Wider Vision

Bibliographic Data

ID6327065
AuthorsRobin Means (Reader in Social Gerontology, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, corresponding author)
Year1997
Volume25
Issue4
Pages409-419
Publication date1997-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolicy & Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-5736 • E-ISSN: 1470-8442
PublisherBristol University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1332/030557397782453228
OpenAlexW2006559642
LanguageEN
Citations received4

This article begins by looking at past policy assumptions about the importance of home and independence to older people. It is shown that it has long been argued that older people should stay in their own homes as long as possible but that this was not backed up with domiciliary services because of concerns that this would enable families to push caring responsibilities onto the state. The second half of the article looks at present day assumptions on this issue as addressed by the 1990 National Health Service and Community Care Act and compares this to what older people themselves have to say. By drawing on research on 39 older households the importance of home as a place of privacy and self identity is illustrated as is the rich and varied lives of these respondents both inside and outside their homes. It is argued that local authorities as the lead agencies in community care should help to foster such independence and that this requires them to develop a broad vision of community care which covers issues such as transport, leisure and household maintenance

Aging in place · Business · Economic growth · Economics · Identity (music · Independence (probability theory · Older people · Political science · Public relations · Service (business · Sociology · State (computer science · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Medicine · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies · Nursing · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Gerontology · Marketing

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