The Licensed Social Club: A Resource for Independence in Later Life

Abstract

Particular places may function as resources for older people in their efforts to actively maintain independence. In Australia, a place of this type is the licensed or 'registered' club which provides leisure facilities, restaurant and bar services and opportunities for informal social interaction. This paper draws on the findings of an ethnographic study which sought to understand the nature, meaning and role of registered club participation for members of one club in Sydney, Australia, to describe the role of club participation in maintaining independence for older people. Participant observation and in-depth interviewing over a four and half year period yielded qualitative data which were analysed using thematic, narrative and key-words-in-context methods of analysis. Club-use facilitated independence-conceptualised as self-reliance-by being an accessible resource utilised by older club-goers to manage daily living and to maintain 'everyday competence'. Independence-conceptualised as self-direction-was facilitated by the availability of a range of options enabling the exercise of choice and balanced reciprocity in relationships. Additionally, club-going was symbolic, for some, of continuing independence. The findings provide a valuable insight into a means by which older people manage later life's challenges, highlighting the active nature of these efforts and the role of local contexts that function as a resource for independence.

Older women's reduced contact with food in the Changes Around Food Experience (CAFE) study: choices, adaptations and dynamism

“…For many participants, maintaining social engagement took priority over remaining attached to providing meals for family or friends, as Henrietta and Bubbles attested. The high value CAFE participants assigned to sustaining social networks and social engagement has been seen in other studies (Litwin and Shiovitz-Ezra 2011; McKie 1999; Simpson-Young and Russell 2009) and CAFE results contribute to this body of findings by showing how food can underpin this process, topping up the social and emotional capital provided by social networks.…”

“…This study reveals the wide range of ways in which older women's changing engagement with food related to contingent aspects of their lives. According to their testimony, many of the changes CAFE participants experienced around food reflected common lifecourse themes (Simpson-Young and Russell 2009; Turrini et al 2010), especially those relating to health, energy levels, loss of a partner, missing family or friends, changes in caring roles and in socialising, and the consequent exploration of other choices available to them.…”

Personal and Psychosocial Impacts of Clinical Fracture in Men

“…16 This could explain the low usage of community-based services such as Home Help and Meals on Wheels among the men in our study, despite the relatively high impact of fracture on their activities of daily living. However, it is plausible that men who live with a partner are likely to have reduced needs for community-based services.…”