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Older people's exercising of choice in long-term care: a comparative analysis of England and Japan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2015

YOSHIMI WADA
YOSHIMI WADA*
Affiliation:
School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: Yoshimi Wada, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, 8 Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TZ, UK E-mail: yoshimi.wada@aim.com
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Abstract

There has been an increasing emphasis on choice for older people in long-term care in both England and Japan. However, despite the emphasis on the importance of choice, the perspectives of older people have been given little attention. Considering national and local policies in Bristol, England and Kyoto, Japan, the article explores how older people are exercising (and not exercising) choice in care practice through examining the perspectives of the older people themselves, as well as key informants in the field. Empirical data were collected from interviews with older people and key informants in the two countries, and were analysed using qualitative and comparative approaches. Choice in policy is regarded as a mechanism of the market with an assumption of the independent autonomous individual who can exercise ‘rational choice’. However, the findings have reflected older people's relational decision-making, which does not conform to the rational model of decision-making, and illustrates the value of ‘interdependence’. The findings from care practice have shown that choice was considered an important value in involving older people's views and ensuring their needs are met sensitively and respectfully. The findings also suggested that consideration of the psychological aspects of choice is an important aspect of ‘care’, facilitating the inclusion of older people's views in the process of making judgements, in order to meet their needs.

Keywords

choicecarepolicyrelational decision-makingthe psychological aspects of choicecomparative analysisthe ethics of careConfucian ethics
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 36 , Issue 6 , July 2016 , pp. 1185 - 1210
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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