Naslov
Some methodological issues of quantitative and qualitative study of human rights and personal dignity in old age

Autori
Vahtar, Dorijan ; Vrban, Ines

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
ECSWR 2021 10th European conference for social work research - book of abstracts. / Lazar, F. ; Symonds, J. ; Metz, J. - Virtualno izdanje : ESWRA, 2021, 166-166

Skup
ECSWR 2021 10th European conference for social work research. Social Work Research: Contributing to Innovations in Practice, Policy and Social Development

Mjesto i datum
Online; konferencija, 05.05.2021. - 07.05.2021

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Quantitative research methodology ; Qualitative research methodology ; Human rights of older people
(quantitative research methodology ; qualitative research methodology ; human rights of older people)

Sažetak
The Foundation Zajednički put conducted a study “Rights of the Elderly in the City of Zagreb” (Spajić-Vrkaš et al., 2013) on a sample of 309 participants aged 60-95. The method used was a questionnaire the participants filled in by themselves. The issues of the quantitative approach became obvious at the very start of the study: a great number of the participants quit after the first couple of questions, primarily because of the Likert scales ; a significant number of questionnaires were not completed, and many people gave programmed answers. We tried to solve these problems by filling in the questionnaire together with them, thus turning it into an individual interview. The interviewers read the questions to the participants and then noted their answers, but also their comments and stories. In this way a qualitative dimension was introduced in the method of the questionnaire, which enabled us to collect enough valid data to conduct a statistical analysis. We noticed that the elderly have a better recollection of a discriminatory event from the recent past if they have a chance to give more details when answering the question of whether their rights have been violated. In this way they, step by step, reconstruct the context in which the discrimination took place. This narrative procedure helps them to give more wholesome and detailed answers to the questions from the questionnaire. Based on these experiences, the Foundation conducted a qualitative study of dignity in old age (Rusac et al., 2016). The method used in this study was an individual semi-structured in-depth interview, and there were 30 participants aged 70-90. The aims of the study were to establish whether the elderly experience discrimination ; how they react in such cases ; and how they conceptualize personal dignity in old age. The qualitative approach provided us with thick descriptions of various forms of discrimination, but also the context in which older people experience age discrimination. The results showed that the rights violated the most are the rights from the category of safety and personal dignity. They experienced the highest level of discrimination in public spaces and transport, healthcare institutions, retirement homes, but also in their own families. In these contexts, they were mostly ridiculed, objectified, insulted, robbed, physically threatened, but also exposed to physical violence. Their reaction was mostly passivity and auto-censorship, however there are encouraging cases in which older people reported the discriminatory event to appropriate services, or they gathered and fought for their rights. In order to conduct further research of ageism in public and private institutions, as well as in a wider social and cultural context older people inhabit daily, we suggest using the ethnographic method and research techniques of participant observation and semi-structured in- depth and open-ended interviews. Based on the results, we encourage designing and implementing programs of informing and educating older people about their rights and responsibilities, as well as the responsibilities of public services in the protection of the rights of the elderly.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Socijalne djelatnosti, Interdisciplinarne društvene znanosti

POVEZANOST RADA