Rozanova Julia, Miller Edward Alan, Wetle Terrie
Department of Sociology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Department of Gerontology, McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA.
Aging Soc. 2016 Jan;36(1):17-41. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X14000907. Epub 2014 Sep 5.
The media shape both what people consider significant and how people think about key issues. This paper explored the cultural beliefs and stereotypes that underlie media portrayals of nursing homes. The analysis of texts of 157 articles about nursing homes published from 1999 to 2008 on the front pages of four major-market American newspapers ( and ) was conducted using a qualitative approach inspired by comparative narrative and critical discourse analysis. Results suggest two major themes, each with several narrative components: (a) managing disposable lives (bodies outliving bank accounts; making frailty affordable; and the economics of triage); and (b) retaining purchasing power as successful ageing (consumption as a sign of market participation, spending money as an indicator of autonomy; and financial planning as preparation for future decline). Thus, the results indicate that nursing home residency in-and-of-itself is not a marker of unsuccessful ageing. This, instead, depends, in part, on the extent of choice available as a result of the level of financial solvency. This study shines light on the betwixt and between zone that distinguishes the Third and Fourth Ages; that is, independence dependence in old age. If individuals in a nursing home retain control over the management of their lives through the maintenance of financial independence, even if physically frail, association of nursing home residence with the Fourth Age may be ameliorated.
媒体塑造了人们认为重要的事物以及人们思考关键问题的方式。本文探讨了养老院媒体报道背后的文化信仰和刻板印象。采用受比较叙事和批判性话语分析启发的定性方法，对1999年至2008年在美国四大主流报纸头版发表的157篇关于养老院的文章文本进行了分析。结果提出了两个主要主题，每个主题都有几个叙事成分：（a）管理可支配的生命（身体寿命超过银行账户余额；使虚弱变得可承受；以及分诊的经济学）；（b）作为成功老龄化保持购买力（消费作为市场参与的标志，花钱作为自主的指标；以及财务规划作为应对未来衰退的准备）。因此，结果表明，入住养老院本身并不是老龄化不成功的标志。相反，这在一定程度上取决于财务偿付能力水平所带来的选择程度。这项研究揭示了区分第三年龄和第四年龄的中间地带；也就是说，老年时期的独立与依赖。如果养老院中的个体通过维持财务独立来保持对自己生活管理的控制，即使身体虚弱，养老院居住与第四年龄的关联也可能得到改善。
