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. 2023 Jun;42(6):1313-1323.
doi: 10.1177/07334648221143619. Epub 2022 Dec 4.

What's Keeping Residents "Out of the Mainstream": Challenges to Participation in the News Media for Older People Living in Residential Care

Laura D Allen  1 , Dana Burr Bradley  2 , Liat Ayalon  1
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What's Keeping Residents "Out of the Mainstream": Challenges to Participation in the News Media for Older People Living in Residential Care

Laura D Allen et al. J Appl Gerontol. 2023 Jun.

Abstract

The voices of older people living in residential care are often excluded from news articles about residential care, and this exclusion was especially apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to identify and understand the barriers which may be obstructing the news media participation of older residents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 journalists, 7 administrators, and 12 residents. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a thematic analysis, which resulted in the following themes: (1) residents are physically separated from their communities; (2) journalists do not consider residents to be official sources for news stories; (3) administrators feel they must manage their care home's reputation and control access to residents; and (4) journalists and administrators are not equipped to handle issues of consent and privacy. The role of ableism and ageism in the news reporting process is discussed.

Keywords: ableism; ageism; civic engagement; long-term care; media portrayals.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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