Health in the Context of Growing Old: Social Representations of Health

Abstract

Senior citizens have become a major part of the clientele of general practitioners and home care nurses due to a major demographic transition in most western countries. How do the health concepts in professional practice reflect these trends? Research has largely investigated the health concepts of lay people. This study is focused on the representations of health in old age held by two groups of professionals--general practitioners and nurses--both working in home care with elderly people in two German cities. The results show how health professionals use an extended concept of health, which focuses on the life situation of the old person, on autonomy, self-determination or independence and on how the elderly manage disease and physical restrictions.