Keeping disease at arm's length: how older Danish people distance disease through active ageing

Aske Juul Lassen

doi:10.1017/s0144686x14000245

Keeping disease at arm's length: how older Danish people distance disease through active ageing

11 Citationer (Scopus)

Abstract

Many older people live with a range of chronic diseases. However, these diseases
do not necessarily impede an active lifestyle. In this article the author analyses the relation between the active ageing discourse and the way older people at two Danish activity centres handle disease. How does active ageing change everyday life with chronic disease, and how do older people combine an active life with a range of chronic diseases? The participants in the study use activities to keep their diseases at arm’s length, and this distancing of disease at the same time enables them to engage in social and physical activities at the activity centre. In this way, keeping disease at arm’s length is analysed as an ambiguous health strategy. The article shows the importance of looking into how active ageing is practised, as active ageing seems to work well in the everyday life of the older people by not giving emphasis to disease. The article is based on ethnographic fieldwork and uses vignettes of four participants to show how they each keep diseases at arm’s length.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Tidsskrift	Ageing & Society
Vol/bind	35
Udgave nummer	7
Sider (fra-til)	1364-1383
Antal sider	20
ISSN	0144-686X
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x14000245
Status	Udgivet - 4 aug. 2015

Emneord

Det Humanistiske Fakultet

Adgang til dokumentet

10.1017/s0144686x14000245

Citationsformater

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title = "Keeping disease at arm's length: how older Danish people distance disease through active ageing",

abstract = "Many older people live with a range of chronic diseases. However, these diseasesdo not necessarily impede an active lifestyle. In this article the author analyses the relation between the active ageing discourse and the way older people at two Danish activity centres handle disease. How does active ageing change everyday life with chronic disease, and how do older people combine an active life with a range of chronic diseases? The participants in the study use activities to keep their diseases at arm{\textquoteright}s length, and this distancing of disease at the same time enables them to engage in social and physical activities at the activity centre. In this way, keeping disease at arm{\textquoteright}s length is analysed as an ambiguous health strategy. The article shows the importance of looking into how active ageing is practised, as active ageing seems to work well in the everyday life of the older people by not giving emphasis to disease. The article is based on ethnographic fieldwork and uses vignettes of four participants to show how they each keep diseases at arm{\textquoteright}s length.",

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AB - Many older people live with a range of chronic diseases. However, these diseasesdo not necessarily impede an active lifestyle. In this article the author analyses the relation between the active ageing discourse and the way older people at two Danish activity centres handle disease. How does active ageing change everyday life with chronic disease, and how do older people combine an active life with a range of chronic diseases? The participants in the study use activities to keep their diseases at arm’s length, and this distancing of disease at the same time enables them to engage in social and physical activities at the activity centre. In this way, keeping disease at arm’s length is analysed as an ambiguous health strategy. The article shows the importance of looking into how active ageing is practised, as active ageing seems to work well in the everyday life of the older people by not giving emphasis to disease. The article is based on ethnographic fieldwork and uses vignettes of four participants to show how they each keep diseases at arm’s length.

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