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‘You're not really a visitor, you're just a friend’: how older volunteers navigate home visiting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2016

LUCY E. R. LILBURN ,
MARY BREHENY  and
RACHAEL POND
LUCY E. R. LILBURN
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
MARY BREHENY*
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
RACHAEL POND
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Mary Breheny, School of Public Health, Massey University, Private Bag 11 222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

At the intersection of increasing social support needs due to population ageing and the promotion of older age as a time of contribution and social connection, volunteering is an important focus with advantages for older people. One service that addresses both these imperatives is home visiting services. Home visiting services connect home visitors with isolated older people. To examine how older people navigate volunteering for a home visiting service, six visitors were interviewed and the interviews were analysed using discourse analysis. A professionalism discourse was used to construct home visiting as a structured social support service that improved the lives of isolated older people. A personal relationship discourse constructed home visiting as an opportunity to forge long-term relationships that benefit both parties. At times these two discourses created tension for home visitors. Examining how the home visiting service is described by the service organisation online explains these tensions. The online materials construct active older volunteers as providing professional services while those they visit are constructed as receiving friendship. These discourses provide different ageing identities for visitors from those they visit, which contributes to the difficulties in navigating home visiting services. Addressing these tensions will enable service co-ordinators to better meet the needs of both visitors and clients in the context of increasing need for such services.

Keywords

volunteeringhome-visitingbefriendinginterpersonal relationshipsdiscourse analysis
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 38 , Issue 4 , April 2018 , pp. 817 - 838
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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