Social inclusion through ageing-in-place with care?

The onset of ill-health and frailty in later life, within the context of the policy of ageing-in-place, is increasingly being responded to through the provision of home care. In the philosophy of ageing-in-place, the home provides for continuity of living environment, maintenance of independence in the community and social inclusion. The provision of assistance to remain at home assumes continuity in the living environment and independence in the organisation of daily life and social contact. This paper explores the concept of social inclusion alongside that of ageing-in-place with care. Doing so raises the questions: what do we mean by social inclusion for people in this particular population and can social inclusion be achieved, maintained or improved through the provision of care at home? This paper focuses on this time of life and explores the character of the changes that occur as a result of increasing dependency within the home. It draws primarily on research into the experience of dependence on care within the community and concludes that the transition into receiving care is characterised by discontinuity and upheaval which tends to reinforce social exclusion.