Material Citizenship: an ethnographic study exploring object-person relations in the context of people with dementia in care homes
Material Citizenship: an ethnographic study exploring object-person relations in the context of people with dementia in care homes
Materiality has become an increasingly important topic in sociological studies of health care. How objects support the identity of people with dementia in care homes is an emerging area. While early research has tended to focus on sentimental or cherished items (such as photographs or keepsakes), the present study focused on functional objects (such as curling tongs or a hairdryer) as a mechanism to actualise citizenship. This article presents findings from an ethnographic study into the everyday experiences of people with dementia living in a residential care home in southern England. Drawing on a framework analysis of observations of daily life, object-elicitation interviews with residents, in-depth interviews with staff and relatives and documentary research, the findings demonstrate that object relations are a critical but overlooked site for citizenship. Residents are rarely involved in decision-making relating to their personal possessions, lack control over objects and are often discouraged from material interactions important to the maintenance and cultivation of identity. We introduce a new concept ‘material citizenship’ to advance thinking and practice in this area and argue that it is valuable for care practices to combine a material citizenship approach with existing care practices; thus, elevating the importance of object–person relations in dementia care.
care homes, citizenship, dementia, materialities, objects
1471-1485
Lee, Kellyn
6c8c3a3e-f987-4ca0-b1a6-466afeeb399c
Bartlett, Ruth
b059d54d-9431-43a8-9d1d-19d35ab57ac3
July 2021
Lee, Kellyn
6c8c3a3e-f987-4ca0-b1a6-466afeeb399c
Bartlett, Ruth
b059d54d-9431-43a8-9d1d-19d35ab57ac3
Lee, Kellyn and Bartlett, Ruth
(2021)
Material Citizenship: an ethnographic study exploring object-person relations in the context of people with dementia in care homes.
Sociology of Health and Illness, 43 (6), .
(doi:10.1111/1467-9566.13321).
Abstract
Materiality has become an increasingly important topic in sociological studies of health care. How objects support the identity of people with dementia in care homes is an emerging area. While early research has tended to focus on sentimental or cherished items (such as photographs or keepsakes), the present study focused on functional objects (such as curling tongs or a hairdryer) as a mechanism to actualise citizenship. This article presents findings from an ethnographic study into the everyday experiences of people with dementia living in a residential care home in southern England. Drawing on a framework analysis of observations of daily life, object-elicitation interviews with residents, in-depth interviews with staff and relatives and documentary research, the findings demonstrate that object relations are a critical but overlooked site for citizenship. Residents are rarely involved in decision-making relating to their personal possessions, lack control over objects and are often discouraged from material interactions important to the maintenance and cultivation of identity. We introduce a new concept ‘material citizenship’ to advance thinking and practice in this area and argue that it is valuable for care practices to combine a material citizenship approach with existing care practices; thus, elevating the importance of object–person relations in dementia care.
Text
Material Citizenship An ethnographic study exploring object-person relations in the context of people with dementia in care home
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 26 May 2021
Published date: July 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
Our sincere appreciation goes to all of those who took part in the study, and to the Alzheimer?s Society for funding this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for SHIL (SHIL).
Keywords:
care homes, citizenship, dementia, materialities, objects
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 450148
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/450148
ISSN: 0141-9889
PURE UUID: f28b9ff5-a990-484d-91c6-1378cf63cd55
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Date deposited: 14 Jul 2021 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:25
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