Older persons’ experiences and perspectives of receiving social care: a systematic review of the qualitative literature

Abstract

What is known about this topic• The full understanding of a care relationship requires looking not only to the provider's side but also to the receiver's side.• The receivers of care, including older people, are not passive actors.• The literature on the older persons' experiences of receiving social care is still limited. What this paper adds• Positive experiences of receiving social care include reciprocity, respect and attentiveness, safety AbstractThe topic of social care for older people has gained increasing attention from the part of academics, professionals, policy makers and media. However, we know little about this topic from the perspectives of older persons, which hinders future developments in terms of theory, empirical research, professional practice and social policy. This article presents and discusses a systematic review of relevant qualitative research-based evidence on the older persons' experiences and perspectives of receiving social care published between 1990 and September 2014. This review aimed to obtain answers to the following questions: How is the reception of social care experienced by the older persons? What are the negative and positive aspects of these experiences? What are the factors which influence the experiences? The synthesis of the findings of reviewed papers identified six analytical themes: asking for care as a major challenge; ambivalences; (dis)engagement in decisions concerning care; multiple losses as outcomes of receiving social care; multiple strategies to deal with losses originated by the ageing process; and properties of 'good care'. These themes are discussed from the point of view of their implications for theory, care practice and social policy, and future research.Keywords: experiences and perspectives, older people, qualitative studies, receiving care, social care, systematic review and security, and engagement in decisions concerning care.

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