What do you think?
Rate this book
Anthropologies of American Medicine: Culture, Power, and Practice Series
Inequalities of Aging: Paradoxes of Independence in American Home Care
Winner, 2020 Eileen Basker Memorial Prize, given by the Society for Medical Anthropology
The troubling dynamic of the American home care industry where increased independence for the elderly conflicts with the well being of caregivers
Paid home care is one of the fastest growing occupations in the United States, and millions of Americans rely on these workers to help them remain at home as they grow older. However, the industry is rife with contradictions. The United States spends a fortune on medical care, yet devotes comparatively few resources on improving wages, thus placing home care providers in the ranks of the working poor. As a result, the work that enables some older Americans to live independently generates profound social inequalities.
Inequalities of Aging explores the ways in which these inequalities play out on the ground as workers, who are disproportionately women of color and immigrants, earn poverty-level wages and often struggle to provide for themselves and their families. The ethnographic narrative reveals how two of the nation’s most pressing concerns―rising social inequality and caring for an aging population―intersect to transform the lives of older adults, home care workers, and the world around them.
The book takes readers inside the homes and offices of people connected to two Chicago area home care agencies serving low-income and affluent older adults, respectively. Through intimate portrayals of daily life, Elana D. Buch illustrates how diverse histories, care practices, and social policies overlap and contribute to social inequality.
Illuminating the lived experience of both workers and their clients, Inequalities of Aging shows the different ways in which the idea of independence both connects and shapes the lives of the elderly and the working poor.
The troubling dynamic of the American home care industry where increased independence for the elderly conflicts with the well being of caregivers
Paid home care is one of the fastest growing occupations in the United States, and millions of Americans rely on these workers to help them remain at home as they grow older. However, the industry is rife with contradictions. The United States spends a fortune on medical care, yet devotes comparatively few resources on improving wages, thus placing home care providers in the ranks of the working poor. As a result, the work that enables some older Americans to live independently generates profound social inequalities.
Inequalities of Aging explores the ways in which these inequalities play out on the ground as workers, who are disproportionately women of color and immigrants, earn poverty-level wages and often struggle to provide for themselves and their families. The ethnographic narrative reveals how two of the nation’s most pressing concerns―rising social inequality and caring for an aging population―intersect to transform the lives of older adults, home care workers, and the world around them.
The book takes readers inside the homes and offices of people connected to two Chicago area home care agencies serving low-income and affluent older adults, respectively. Through intimate portrayals of daily life, Elana D. Buch illustrates how diverse histories, care practices, and social policies overlap and contribute to social inequality.
Illuminating the lived experience of both workers and their clients, Inequalities of Aging shows the different ways in which the idea of independence both connects and shapes the lives of the elderly and the working poor.
- GenresNonfiction
288 pages, Paperback
Published August 28, 2018
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 4, 2026
So this was my first medical ethnography/anthropology book, I did have to create a book poster, presentation, and write up for this so I am VERY grateful I enjoyed it so much.
I really appreciated how the author collected and shared the life history narratives because it was very interesting to see how those life experiences shaped care both for home care workers and older adults. I also thought the exploration of embodied care was extremely thought provoking particularly when thinking about the implications of providing this type of care for home care workers (the majority of who are racialized women).
~8 years after this book was published and longer since this research was collected it's unfortunate how much still rings true and how little has improved. So much of the work these women do is still so grossly undervalued and disrespected despite how much society relies on them.
“Long the province of women who are expected to generate the lives of kin without pay, this labour remains undervalued even as it is commodified.”
I really appreciated how the author collected and shared the life history narratives because it was very interesting to see how those life experiences shaped care both for home care workers and older adults. I also thought the exploration of embodied care was extremely thought provoking particularly when thinking about the implications of providing this type of care for home care workers (the majority of who are racialized women).
~8 years after this book was published and longer since this research was collected it's unfortunate how much still rings true and how little has improved. So much of the work these women do is still so grossly undervalued and disrespected despite how much society relies on them.
“Long the province of women who are expected to generate the lives of kin without pay, this labour remains undervalued even as it is commodified.”
Read
June 28, 2019362.14 B9182 2018
April 19, 2023
very well written and organized
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews