Conflict situations in the socio-health sphere of aged people

Abstract

Detection and description of conflicts when assisting aged people in the socio-health sphere in Guipuzcoa’s province. This study is part of a larger research funded by the UPV/EHU dealing with old age conflicts and suggesting interventions based on mediation and conflict resolution. Semi-structured interviews were carried out upon 30 people related to old people assistance: 22 women and 8 men. The most frequent conflicts were: demand and resources are out of step, in those cases where the family has an essential role, and coexistence conflicts. The existence of negative stereotypes about the old age and the aging process interfere with conflicts, as well as the detected lack of knowledge concerning conflict dynamics and its resolutions. Old people, their relatives, and the technical personnel were the most implied parties, of which the last ones are the mainstays when dealing with conflicts. These conflicts management is conditioned upon the maintenance of the institutions’ everyday operation due to the characteristics of the population being treated, the scarcity of resources and its consequences, and the personalization of conflict (the aged people are involved in it and are the source of conflict).