Constructing citizens: a matter of labeling, imaging and underlying rationales in the case of people with dementia

Figures & data

Table 1. Labels and underlying rationales related to the construction of ‘people with dementia’.

Rationales Labels	Technocratic/Scientific	Cultural	Social	Political
PERIOD I <1979
‘Ordinary forgetful elderly’	Natural sign of ageing (senility)	Deserving Equality	Normal ageing Active	Positive Weak
‘Mentally deranged’	Medicine: failed mind, illness Institutional care	Deserving Solidarity	Deviant Disturbing	Negative Weak
‘Deserving older demented patients’	Medicine: illness	Dignity Equality Paid taxes Deserving Solidarity	Disturbing Burden to society	Negative toward positive Weak
‘Disturbing older demented patients’	Medicine: illness Institutional care Economy	Deserving From public to private solutions	Burden to society Cost-demanding	Negative Weak
PERIOD II ~1980–1989
‘Elderly with severe needs’	Medicine: illness Care: severe needs	Deserving Greater needs over lesser needs. Solidarity	Burden to society Sick	Negative Weak
‘Demented patients with special needs’	Medicine: illness Social care: not hospital care	‘Traditional furniture’	Disturbing Burden to society Unwanted behavior Homogeneity some individual differences	Negative toward positive Weak
PERIOD III ~1990–1999
People with dementia as overlooked	Medicine: illness	Deserving	Invisible Burden to society	Negative Weak
PERIOD IV ~2000–2013
‘Most-diseased elderly’	Medicine: disease focused Health care: frailty, failing Economy	Deserving Equality through greater needs Austerity Individualism	Burden to society The disease Cost-demanding	Negative Weak
‘People with dementia’ as a label	Medicine: disease focused Care: complex needs	Deserving Equality through greater needs Heterogeneity Individualism	Burden to society Incompetent Incapable But a person	Less negative Weak
‘Disease of the relatives’	Medicine: disease focused Care: complex needs	Normality Home-like Individualism Equality through greater needs	Burden to relatives, to personnel, to society	Negative Weak
‘The patient in center of care’	Medicine: illness Care	Deserving Individualism Equality, greater needs	Incapable Burden to society	Negative Weak