Location or dis-location? Towards a conceptualization of people and place in the care-giving experience

Abstract

Over the last two decades we have seen an increased interest in informal care within both political and academic communities in the UK. This has stemmed in large part from an increased emphasis on the home-space as the preferred site of care provision and a resultant increase in the complexity of the care-giving relationship. The explicitly spatial dimensions of this caring relationship, however, are vastly under-researched. This paper represents one attempt to redress the gap by examining the importance of place, and its conceptualization, in the care of frail older people. In doing so, the paper focuses, firstly, on the spatial manifestation of care at various scales, identifying some of the processes behind variations in the care-giving experience and, secondly, using the example of dementia care, it considers how Augé's concepts of anthropological place and non-space, when applied to domestic and institutional care settings, can facilitate a more nuanced understanding of the importance of people and place in the construction and delivery of care to frail older people.

‘Manic Mums’ and ‘Distant Dads’? Gendered geographies of care and the journey to school

“…These local cultures of parenting and care generated local support networks, often available to carers, although contingent upon their spatial location (Milligan, 2003). These are important sources of practical support and information (Dyck, 1990 andHolloway, 1998) and mothers often coordinated car sharing through these networks as one response to the challenge to care for children whilst travelling to school (Dowling, 2000).…”

“…The geographies of care have begun exploring the processes of caring in its many different configurations and guises (Williams, 2002 andParr andPhilo, 2003), exploring the daily geography of practices of care, including the "micro-politics of care negotiation" (Dyck et al 2005, p174, see also Johnsen et al, 2005 andPower, 2008). The moral landscapes of care have also been begun to be mapped, identifying how spaces of care are imagined by different people in different ways (Johnsen et al, 2005) and how place is important in developing care arrangements (Milligan, 2003). How individuals are cared for is increasingly influenced by numerous networks, linking people, organisations and institutions (Bosco, 2007).…”

Everyday Spaces of Mental Distress: The Spatial Habituation of Home

“…McHugh & Mings, 1996;Moss, 1997;Wiles et al, 2009). For instance, in discussing the move of care from institutional and/or community settings into the home in relation to the elderly, Milligan (2003) highlights the process of care entering home spaces, and the impacts of the mechanisms of care on that space (e.g. in partially transforming it from home space to work space).…”

Creating ‘therapeutic landscapes’ for mental health carers in inpatient settings: A dynamic perspective on permeability and inclusivity

“…This paper focuses particularly on the experiences of 'carers'; family and friends who provide 'informal care' to people with mental health conditions. Their perspective is important, not least because in health services generally, the landscape of care and caregiving has been restructured (Brown 2003), blurring the boundaries between the public and private spheres of care and redefining the roles and responsibilities of professionals working in the 'statutory care sector', and of family and friends providing 'informal' care (Milligan, 2001(Milligan, , 2003(Milligan, , 2005(Milligan, , 2009Milligan et al, 2007;Wiles, 2003). In the UK, recognition of the rights of informal carers and how their caring role may impact on their own needs and wellbeing has also been acknowledged, with the development of national carers strategies emphasizing how carers need to be 'supported and viewed as partners in the care of their family member' (Milligan, 2003, p. 456).…”