Comparison of the characteristics of homes for older people in Slovenia with Goffman's concept of the total institution

Abstract

The past concepts of life and work in homes for older people in Slovenia are no longer adequate to meet the needs, wishes and requirements of their current users. One of the basic premises, relying on Goffman's concept of the total institution, is that the first and foremost characteristic of homes for older people is that they are institutions. The theoretical starting point, namely that Goffman's concept of the total institution is ideal-typical, was corroborated by an investigation of the presence of elements of the total institution in Slovenian homes for older people, proving that not all features of the total institution can be found in any chosen empirical selection of institutions, with the data showing that those characteristics which are present do not exist in the ideal, that is in the most pronounced form. The homes’ users are given consideration, their personnel are adapting to their needs and requirements, even though this occurs within the functioning of an institution whose aims, i.e. to care for a large number of people living in one place, make life in such an institution subordinated to rules, along with the bureaucratisation and routinisation of services.

Koncepti življenja in dela v domovih za stare v Sloveniji iz preteklosti ne ustrezajo več v celoti današnjim potrebam, željam in zahtevam uporabnikov. V ta namen je avtorica izpostavila eno od temeljnih značilnosti domov za stare, namreč to, da so domovi v prvi vrsti institucije. Pri tem je uporabila Goffmanov koncept totalne ustanove. Ugotavljanje prisotnosti elementov totalne ustanove v slovenskih domovih za stare je potrdilo teoretično izhodišče, da je Goffmanov pojem totalne ustanove idealnotipski, kar pomeni, da vseh značilnosti totalne ustanove ne najdemo v vsakem empiričnem naboru institucij. Tudi v domovih za stare niso prisotne vse značilnosti, podatki pa kažejo, da tiste značilnosti, ki so prisotne, ne obstajajo v idealni najbolj izraziti obliki. Uporabnik je upoštevan, osebje se prilagaja njegovim potrebam in zahtevam, a v okvirih delovanja ustanove. Še vedno so v ospredju cilji ustanove: skrb za množico ljudi, nakopičeno na enem mestu, zato je življenje v ustanovi podrejeno pravilom, birokratizaciji in rutinizaciji opravil.

Keywords:

• Keywords: total institution
• homes for the older people
• atmosphere
• culture
• emotion labour
• bureaucratisation of life

Ključne besede:

• totalna institucija
• domovi za stare
• klima
• kultura
• emocionalno delo
• birokratizacija življenja