Article

There is ongoing public and private concern regarding the
appropriateness of young people with complex health needs residing in nursing
homes and the search for alternative living environments. Despite the demand for
change, there is only tacit understanding of the key motivations behind this call
for change and even less in the way of coherent arguments underlying the need for
alternative solutions.
The study aimed to explore the assumed truths that have
formed around this topic in recent years and to reposition ambitious but
ambiguous arguments regarding the need to relocate younger people from aged care
facilities. METHOD: By applying the method of systematic metaphor analysis, the
authors conducted a review of social discourse (i.e. media corpus of 904
published articles dated 2001-2009). RESULTS: A conceptual media map was
developed to document the process of social change around this topic.
Additionally, the narrative described five metaphors that outlined the experience
of aged care residential homes for young people with complex health conditions,
namely 'captivity', 'commodity', 'battlelines', 'fragmentation' and 'a
contemporary life'. These metaphors reflected the fears and hopes held by young
people and their families. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that young people at
risk of nursing home placement are confronted with a range of distinct and
complex personal dilemmas which ought to be resolved through initiatives
purported to offer 'more appropriate' residential options. We conclude that
principles of good quality care are in danger of becoming misplaced within
over-simplified interpretations of the needs of young people with complex
conditions. Alignment of disability and rehabilitation policy with residential
care practice will allow for more informed decisions about long-term care needs
of young people, leading to quality outcomes.

Langue : ANGLAIS