Meaning as outcome: Understanding the complexity of decision-making around residential placement in aged care

Abstract

Changes in aged care and health policy have introduced an increasingly complex assessment, resource option, and economic and regulatory context for decision-making regarding relocation to residential care. This paper reports on a study exploring residential placement from the perspective of spouses who place a long-term partner in an aged care facility. It highlights the importance of understanding the meaning of such decision-making for the spouse who remains at home and explores the ways in which the placement is constructed as either a continuation of, or a refusal to, care for a long-term partner. The paper draws out the implications for social work practice and identifies the challenge to merge knowledge of resource packages, care options and financial arrangements with a concern with the processes of decision-making and the emotional and symbolic aspects of such decisions.