Managing the Ageing Experience

 Managing the Ageing Experience – Learning From Older People
 Rating: 2/5
 By Denise Tanner
 ISBN 9781861348852 (paperback)
 ISBN 9781861348869 (hardcover)

Central to this book are the older people who participated in the research and their stories make it easy for the reader to understand their life situations, writes Jackie Hodges. A common theme is the refusal of assistance by the social work department, other than signposting to other services or private providers.

The picture builds gradually of how the participants deal with their ageing process, their interaction with families, friends and professional agencies, and how these experiences have the potential to influence future planning for better outcomes.

Tanner acknowledges the challenges of including older people less articulate than the participants in her research in shaping future services. The question of how this is achieved is very relevant and should be central to developments given the projected increase in the number of older people.

Aspects of the book are thought-provoking and it is interesting to read the first-hand experiences from interviews and diary entries.

However, the continuous referencing to other research is distracting and gives the impression Tanner is trying to validate points that had emerged from her own research.

The small numbers involved in the research weaken Tanner’s arguments. It eventually leaves you with a feeling that the majority of the assertions are general observations that could have been equally applied to others groups in society.

Jackie Hodges is project manager, change support team, Highland Council