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Constructions of older people's identities in Indonesian regional ageing policies: the impacts on micro and macro experiences of ageing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2021

Made Diah Lestari Open the ORCID record for Made Diah Lestari [Opens in a new window] ,
Christine Stephens Open the ORCID record for Christine Stephens [Opens in a new window]  and
Tracy Morison
Made Diah Lestari*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand Department of Psychology, Medical Faculty, Udayana University, Bali, Indonesia
Christine Stephens
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Tracy Morison
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
*
*Corresponding author. Email: mdlestari@unud.ac.id
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Abstract

As Indonesia experiences rapid growth of the ageing population, the government's attention has turned to the wellbeing of older people. This study aims to review critically the construction of older people's identity and care within regional ageing policies in Indonesia. Working from a critical gerontology perspective, a critical discourse analysis of 16 regional ageing policies identified two constructions, labelled ‘material’ and ‘cultural’ ageing, which were used to position older people. The analysis showed that ‘material ageing’ positions older people at the intersection of ‘decline’ and ‘successful ageing’ discourses, while ‘cultural ageing’ positions older people's welfare at the intersection of ‘public responsibility’ and ‘family obligation’ discourses. These discursive constructions in the policy documents have both micro (interpersonal) and macro (structural) constructive effects. At the micro-level, the regional ageing policies stand at a crossroad between empowering and marginalising older people and their families. While the dominant discourse of ‘successful ageing’ encourages older people to be healthy, it marginalises those who do not, or cannot, meet its criteria, undermining a rehabilitative approach as a policy priority. In addition, the rights of the family are overlooked, despite being a pivotal element of cultural ageing. At the macro level, a moral dilemma appears in defining the public and private domains of older people's welfare. Eligibility requirements for state assistance (due to budgetary constraints) ensure that elder care is often relegated to the private sphere, without support. Recommendations for policy improvement are discussed, including the recognition of families’ rights and the importance of local cultural practices in providing care for older people.

Keywords

ageing policycritical discourse analysiscritical gerontologyolder people's identityolder people's care
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 42 , Issue 9 , September 2022 , pp. 2046 - 2066
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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