Participation in policy discourse: new form of exclusion for seniors with disabilities?
Can J Aging
; 32(2): 117-29, 2013 Jun.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23714016
ABSTRACT
Recent discourses on aging emphasize the value of older people's social participation. How participation is defined in policy, however, may not correspond with seniors' realities. This article reports on the results of a critical discourse analysis conducted on aging policy in Quebec between 2005 and 2011. Results indicate that participation definitions can be problematic recommendations, standards, and expectations. Over time, participation increasingly came to be defined as productivity. The participation context also changed from collective responsibility to community adjustment and personal choice. Finally, policy texts reflected a polarization between activity and a loss of autonomy that linked participation with health status. Results suggest that, although innovative in the Canadian context, articulation of participation in Quebec's recent policies on aging lacks the politics from which to discuss difference, otherness, and access to participative opportunities. The case of older people's aging with disabilities illustrates the challenges of the new participatory agenda.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Public Policy
/
Aging
/
Disabled Persons
/
Social Participation
/
Social Marginalization
/
Health Policy
Aspects:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
/
Equity_inequality
/
Patient_preference
Limits:
Aged
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
Can J Aging
Journal subject:
GERIATRIA
Year:
2013
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Canada