[Experiences of uncertainty about the future, poverty risks, and precarious living situations in nursing homes].

Abstract

The living situation of people in nursing homes, with a specific vulnerability to care-related impoverishment, is underresearched. This article deals with experiences of uncertainty, poverty and a precarious life situation of care home residents in later life. The data basis is supplied by an ethnographic study of ageing and living with chronic health conditions. A range of precarious living situations are outlined on the basis of real cases. Insights gleaned include: people with diverse sociobiographical backgrounds can be affected by insecurity, poverty and precarious life situations as a result of becoming dependent on help and the transition to care homes. Not knowing whether available funds will suffice to cover rising costs until the end of life is a common form of uncertainty about the future. The threat of poverty or becoming dependent on state benefits can exacerbate experiences of loss associated with institutional care, losing autonomy, opportunities for participation, and options for shaping one's life and can further destabilize the overall condition. This anguish remains largely invisible; structural problems are individualized.