Towards an integrated analytical framework on old age powerlessness: contribution to social work practice

ABSTRACT This article provides a theoretical review of the conceptualisation of power and powerlessness related to older people and proposes an integrated analytical framework for examining old age powerlessness. This framework conceptualises old age powerlessness regarding subjective sense and objective situations. The article argues that three powerlessness traps, the structural, cultural, and professional practice traps, interact to construct old age powerlessness. It also discusses the contribution of the framework to social work practice.