‘The Taste Buddies’: participation and empowerment in a residential home for older people

The active participation and autonomy of older people living in residential homes is considered to be problematic. However, in our action research project conducted in a Dutch residential care organisation we found ways to enhance residents' direct participation. This form of participation is g...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ageing and society 2012-08, Vol.32 (6), p.1055-1078
Main Authors: BAUR, VIVIANNE, ABMA, TINEKE
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action Research
Aged
Biological and medical sciences
Elderly
Empowerment
Females
Interpersonal relations
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Netherlands
Older people
Participation
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Residential Institutions
Retirement homes
Social Identity
Trust
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The active participation and autonomy of older people living in residential homes is considered to be problematic. However, in our action research project conducted in a Dutch residential care organisation we found ways to enhance residents' direct participation. This form of participation is grounded in deliberative and participatory approaches to democracy. In this article we describe how a group of seven residents (all female), calling themselves ‘The Taste Buddies’, developed a joint vision on how meals could be improved. The facilitation of this process enhanced this group's empowerment, building interpersonal trust, social identity and joint purpose. We will take the reader through this process and discuss the developments of these older women against the background of relational empowerment. We argue that resident participation as partnership with employees and managers starts with relational empowerment among residents themselves (enclave deliberation). This process is non-linear and requires time and constructive facilitation.
ISSN:0144-686X
1469-1779
DOI:10.1017/S0144686X11000766