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Assisted living facilities as sites of encounter: implications for older adults’ experiences of inclusion and exclusion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2019

Rachel V. Herron ,
L. M. Funk ,
D. Spencer  and
M. Wrathall
Rachel V. Herron*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Brandon University, Brandon, Canada
L. M. Funk
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada
D. Spencer
Affiliation:
Department of Law and Legal Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
M. Wrathall
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. Email: herronr@brandonu.ca
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Abstract

Most of the existing literature on inclusion and exclusion among older adults focuses on community-dwelling individuals. In this article, we draw on the results of a comparative case study to explore how older adults in two assisted living settings experience inclusion and exclusion. One site was a low-income facility and the other a higher-end facility in a mid-sized Canadian city. Bridging together geographies of encounter and gerontological approaches on social inclusion, we analyse interviews with tenants and key informants to explore when, where and in what ways these groups experience inclusion and exclusion in these particular settings. Tenants’ narratives reveal how their encounters, and in turn their experiences of exclusion and inclusion are shaped by experiences throughout their lifecourse, the organisation of assisted living spaces, communities beyond the facility, and pervasive discourses of ageism and ‘dementiaism’. We argue that addressing experiences of exclusion for older adults within these settings involves making more time and space for positive encounters and addressing pervasive discourses around ageism and ‘dementiaism’ among tenants and staff.

Keywords

agingassisted livingsocial inclusionencounter
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 40 , Issue 7 , July 2020 , pp. 1577 - 1593
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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