Culture, Multiculturalism and Ageing: Towards a postmodern interpretation
Rhonda Nay
Professor of Gerontic Nursing, Gerontic Nursing Professorial Unit and Clinical School, La Trobe University and BECC, Melbourne VIC
Keri Chater
RMIT University, School of Health Sciences,
Division of Nursing and Midwifery, Bundoora VIC
PP: 56
Abstract
Nursing care of older people is informed by many different theoretical frameworks. This paper contends that two such frameworks, the lifecourse theory and some aspects of Western medicine are cultural constructs that are often seen as normative therefore obscuring the power relations implicit in these constructions.
The paper argues that nurses are implicated in reproducing these cultural constructions but more particularly, these constructions may have no meanings for non-English speaking older people. Finally, the paper suggests that nurses could benefit from a more localised, contextual view of ageing.
Keywords
culture, ageing, lifecourse, cultural constructions, multiculturalism
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