Publication details
poster - Food in care homes as an essential element of quality of life - between care regimes and individual autonomy
| Title in English | potser - Food in care homes as an essential element of quality of life - between care regimes and individual autonomy |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | A nutritious and enjoyable eating experience is essential to achieve good health and quality of life in old age. Meals add meaning and structure to an older adult’s day, providing the feeling of independence and control and are based on their agency. Transition to a nursing home represents a very significant change in the routine of older adults. The presentation is based on the analysis of observation in dining rooms and individual interviews with clients and staff in 5 care homes for older adults in the Czech Republic as representatives of specific post-socialist care regimes based historically on extensive institutional facilities and shifting responsibility to the state at all stages of the lifecycle. The dietary regime and individual adaptation strategies to the collectivistic dietary regime are mainly analysed. Despite declarative support for self-sufficiency and individual needs, diet is an area that is primarily driven by the need for feed and nutritional recommendations. Individualising the food regime requires considerable activism. The staff's efforts to motivate clients and provide them with the 'right care' means complex negotiations of non-compliance with dietary measures and the set daily regime. Simply refusing to get up for breakfast or the habit of eating particular foods is not a sufficient reason. Nutritional therapists design menus to comply with dietary recommendations and all dietary standards. Failure of clients to adhere to meal times would prevent staff from providing other needed care and activation. As a result, care homes in the Czech Republic have a fixed dietary regime, and the choice of meals reflects various dietary restrictions. This pursuit of "ageing well" can be seen as an element of Foucoult's biopower, practised by care home staff and internalised by clients. |
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