ABSTRACT

This article reports on a participative study that began to explore what safety and vulnerability mean to older people and the resources they draw on to keep themselves safe. The methodology was designed in collaboration with an independent advocacy organisation and 10 of its older members, who were also research participants. It involved focus groups and repeated visits to five participants to discuss their daily lives. The findings indicate that ‘safety’ and ‘vulnerability’ have subjective, experiential dimensions, which are situated in particular relationships, environments and experiences over time. Participants reported drawing on their own strengths and the strengths of others in their families, communities and local services to achieve an acceptable level of felt safety for themselves. However, this sense of safety could not be disentangled from, nor always prioritised over, wider aspects of living well including maintaining reciprocal relationships, preserving self-identity and contributing to the well-being of families and other social groups of which they felt themselves a part. Implications are considered in light of UK and wider European policy aspirations to support both autonomy and safety: specifically, the need to foster supportive communities, to offer low-level support and to pay attention to what safety means to each individual.

摘要

本文报道了一项参与性研究，该研究开始探讨安全和脆弱性对老年人意味着什么，以及他们利用哪些资源来保护自己的安全。该方法是与一个独立的倡导组织及其 10 名年长成员（也是研究参与者）合作设计的。它涉及焦点小组，并反复访问五名参与者，讨论他们的日常生活。研究结果表明，“安全”和“脆弱性”具有主观的、经验的维度，随着时间的推移，它们位于特定的关系、环境和经历中。参与者报告说，他们利用自己的优势以及家人、社区和当地服务机构中其他人的优势，为自己实现了可接受的安全感。然而，这种安全感不能脱离幸福生活的更广泛方面，也不能总是优先于这些方面，包括维持互惠关系、保持自我认同以及为家庭和他们认为自己是其中一部分的其他社会群体的福祉做出贡献。考虑到英国和更广泛的欧洲支持自治和安全的政策愿望的影响：具体而言，需要培养支持性社区，提供低水平的支持并关注安全对每个人意味着什么。