Social Constructions of Successful Ageing: The Case of Ruware Park in Marondera, Zimbabwe

Abstract

ethe Social constructions of successful ageing provide an invaluable resource for challenging and reconfiguring approaches and models of geriatric care. This paper has established that contrary to normative framing of successful ageing as that (ageing) which is free from diseases and infirmity, older persons in Ruware Park of Marondera had some social, cultural, personal and economic conceptualisations of the notion. Based on these varied conceptualisations, this paper has advocated for the remodelling of geriatric care programmes, policies and philosophies towards infusing localised notions of successful ageing in forming comprehensive and multidimensional geriatric intervention plans. Social work is critical in effectuating the change.

Moving from the Margins: Towards an Inclusive Urban Representation of Older People in Zimbabwe’s Policy Discourse

“…It is a situation that has persisted for many years as shown in Figure 2 which illustrates the significantly low provision of maintenance of older persons when compared with other groups [56,57]. Contrary to the persistent narrative of marginalisation of Zimbabwe's older urban citizens, are findings from studies indicating the valuable roles that older people, particularly older women play in urban communities such as through community building programmes [58,59], crucial caregivers and family contributors [55,60,61], sharing knowledge and building symbiotic relationships between older persons and their families [62]. Whereas these studies have provided valuable insights into urban ageing in Zimbabwe, to the authors' knowledge, to date there has been no evaluation of the discourse that is created and used to shape the lived realities of older people and identify their needs.…”