From ‘Us and Them’ to ‘Me and You’: Fostering Inclusion in Daily Care Practice in Terms of Equal Partnership

Abstract

Inclusion for all is an essential theme in current societies, but less so in care. In 2017, Briggs and Harris argued for more debate about the meaning of the concept of inclusion in different settings, including health care practices. The question of this paper is how professionals in long-term care can address inclusion and contribute to more inclusive policies. To answer this question, we first describe the characteristics of inclusion in long-term care from the perspectives of theory, care-users and professionals. Then we illustrate the forementioned with two practice examples to demonstrate how inclusion in longterm care might play out. Finally, we reflect on the lessons learned; what can professionals do to establish inclusion in long-term care?Most professionals in care services find user involvement important, and user involvement has shifted expectations and broadened the roles of care-users in health care. However, real partnerships remain difficult to achieve. Belief in the dignity, skills and knowledge of the other person, sharing, openness and tuning in the relationship, are important to establish partnership. Person-centred care in fact is relation-centred care. Further, inclusion asks for more, such as valued roles in long-term care for people with disabilities. Thinking in terms of partnership and valued roles might further challenge all stakeholders to rethink the essence of inclusion: to go beyond labels -we and they -and to reduce this concept to daily life -me and you.