The Care of “Small Things”: Aging and Dignity in Rwanda

Sadruddin, Aalyia Feroz Ali

doi:10.1080/01459740.2019.1643852

Cited by 26 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…As a result, ordinary time is to be handled with care and respect, since one is never sure how long it will last. Furthermore, ordinary time is also about coming to terms with the fact that new rhythmic forms and orders have to be manifested into being (a topic I have written about in the context of elder care and kinship configurations, which remain streaked with differential temporal, experiential, and physical markers after close to four decades of violence and conflict, Sadruddin 2020).…”

Section: An Ordinary Time In the Makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Death in an Ordinary Time: Reflections from Rwanda

Sadruddin

2022

Med Anthropol Q

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Meanings and processes of death in Rwanda have changed dramatically in the 25 years following imvururu, the Kinyarwandan term for “interruptions” that signifies the numerous episodes of violence between the late 1950s and mid‐1990s. Reflecting on experiences of elderly Rwandans who witnessed imvururu in adulthood, this article traces how death is perceived and practiced in old age, a phase of the life course that is marked with relative political calm. Although traces of imvururu permeate the present, these ordinary times—ibihe bisanzwe—afford opportunities for the elderly to alter their notions of death as an event by making it a personal process, reviving valued preparation practices from the past and creating new ones with the young. This peopled account invites alternative ways of thinking about time and recognizing death's role in infusing meaning back into life in contexts where accounts of the everyday remain frozen in an apocalyptic imaginary. [aging, death, ordinary, temporality, Rwanda].

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Section: An Ordinary Time In the Makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Death in an Ordinary Time: Reflections from Rwanda

Sadruddin

2022

Med Anthropol Q

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“…In addition to the cultural change, another way modernization and industrialization were argued to negatively impact the lives of older Eastern Africans was the emergence of new employment trends and opportunities that occupied the younger generation. The suggestion was that the emotional and physical care needs of older people were being left unmet when younger persons were busy meeting growing pressures to attend education and migrate for employment ( 34 , 41 , 42 ). As a result, as one study reports, for example, “elders were discontent with the support from their adult children, as the support was inadequate in light of their former filial responsibility and intergenerational cohesion” ( 47 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Care of Older Persons in Eastern Africa: A Scoping Review of Ethical Issues

Mussie

Setchell

Elger

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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IntroductionThe aging population is rapidly increasing globally, with 80% of the older population living in low- and middle-income countries. In Eastern African countries, there exists an incongruence between readiness–economically, structurally, politically, and culturally–to create a conducive environment for healthy aging, which implies public health as well as ethical concerns. The aim of this scoping review was to explore existing evidence addressing the various ethical issues in connection with elder care in the region of Eastern Africa.MethodsWe searched six databases (Africa-Wide Information, AgeLine, CINHAL, MEDLINE, APA PsycInfo, and SocINDEX) to identify peer-reviewed journal articles that could meet some eligibility criteria such as being a peer-reviewed journal article written in English, having been published in any year until July 2020, and focusing on ethical issues in the care of older people aged 60 years and older from Eastern Africa. We also searched for additional evidence in the references of included papers and web-based platforms. We included 24 journal articles and analyzed them using the inductive content analysis approach.ResultsThe included articles represent seven (38.9%) of the 18 countries in the Eastern African region. The articles covered six ethical concerns: lack of government attention to older persons (n = 14, 58.3%), inaccessibility of health care services (n = 13, 54.2%), loneliness and isolation (n = 11, 45.8%), gender inequalities in old age (n = 9, 37.5%), mistreatment and victimization (n = 8, 33.3%), and medical errors (n = 2, 8.3%).ConclusionThis scoping review summarized ethical issues arising in relation to providing care for older persons in the Eastern African context. In light of the rapid increase in the number of older persons in this region, it is critical for governments and responsible bodies to implement and accelerate efforts promptly to generate more evidence to inform programs and policies that improve the health and wellbeing of older persons. Further research is needed to inform global health efforts that aim at improving the lives of older persons, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.Clinical Trial Registrationhttps://osf.io/sb8gw, identifier: 10.17605/OSF.IO/SB8GW.

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“…Particular emphasis is placed on maintaining dignity through daily tasks and treating older people as active participants in their own care. 87 Societal, political and even legal recognition of the value that all types of informal carers provide, and the increasing role they are likely to play in the future, will be important to ensure that all older adults have access to care and connection.…”

Section: Box 5 New Norms Of Family Carementioning

confidence: 99%

The Aging Readiness and Competitiveness Report - Third Edition: Driving Innovation in Healthcare and Wellness

2021

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The Care of “Small Things”: Aging and Dignity in Rwanda

Cited by 26 publications

References 35 publications

Death in an Ordinary Time: Reflections from Rwanda

Death in an Ordinary Time: Reflections from Rwanda

Care of Older Persons in Eastern Africa: A Scoping Review of Ethical Issues

The Aging Readiness and Competitiveness Report - Third Edition: Driving Innovation in Healthcare and Wellness

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