Presenter:

Elena Moore; Dolly Ntseane; Natacha Berkowitz; Jesman Chintsyana; Janet Ananais; Mzwamadoda Mondi, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

Long-term care policies across the globe have moved to ‘ageing in place’ with support from community and family care. For some countries this is a re-orientation away from residential or institutional care, for others it re-frames existing practice as policy. Taking a multi-scalar approach this symposium examines how ground conditions and institutional practices facilitate such care or are they disabling and depleting? Understanding the interplay between polices, institutional practices and ground conditions is central to effective long term care policies and planning for an ageing population. At first glance ageing in place and family and community care resonant with international and regional policies on the rights of older persons. Yet they cannot do so without review and mitigation of the ground conditions and institutional practices. Without mitigation, ageing in place policies can be disabling and depleting for older persons and their family caregivers. Using Southern Africa as a test case for ageing in place policies in resource poor contexts, we review how and whether ground conditions are out of step with the social imaginaries underpinning later life care policies and institutional arrangements. We review how this environment constrains access to health services, erodes domestic budgets and depletes the wellbeing and health of older persons and their family caregivers.

Bio(s):

Elena Moore – I am a Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cape Town. I obtained a Wellcome Career Award, 2023-2028 to develop and grow a research programme in Family Caregiving of Older Persons in Southern Africa (www.familycaregiving.org.za). This is the first multi-sited qualitative longitudinal study on family caregiving in Africa. We run an extensive policy engagement programme which was recently awarded an IDRC Scaling Care Innovations in Africa Award 2024-2027 for a linked project on: ‘Transforming Elder Care through Collective Policy Action in Southern Africa (2024-2027). I am a recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award 2021, as well as the Vice Chancellor Social Responsiveness Award, University of Cape Town, 2023.