Reconceptualizing Stigmas in Aged Care: A Typology of Stigmatizing Discourses in the Aged-Care Context.

Background And Objectives: Stigmatizing discourses surrounding aged care is complex. The stigma associated with people working in aged care is often conflated with negative evaluations about older adults who receive care and/or the institutions and systems that provide these services. This lack of nuance hampers productive dialogue in gerontology required for making sense of the stigmas attached to entities and systems.

"The Stigma is what you do": Examining the Relationship Between Occupational Stigma and Worker Outcomes in the Aged Care Context.

Negative social evaluations about aged-care work continue to discredit those who perform this type of work. Drawing on 'dirty work' literature from the field of management and stigma theory from the field of psychology, this study examines occupational stigma in the context of aged-care work and its relationship with negative outcomes for people who work in aged care. Findings from a path analysis revealed that aged-care workers (n = 185) who ascribe occupational taints and poor occupational conditions with aged-care work perceive aged-care work as being stigmatized, and in turn, are more likely to internalize this stigma.

The Social Construction of Stigma in Aged-Care Work: Implications for Health Professionals' Work Intentions.

Background And Objectives: Although society has cultivated a deeper appreciation for essential health services, societal discourses reinforce a stigma of working in aged care. Drawing on dirty work and Stigma Theory, this study aims to investigate stigma in the context of recruiting health professionals.

Research Design And Methods: We employed a mixed-methods design to examine the nature and implications of the stigma of working in aged care.

Deeply Discrediting: A Systematic Review Examining the Conceptualizations and Consequences of the Stigma of Working in Aged Care.

Background And Objectives: The stigma of working in aged care can discredit and devalue those working in gerontology. This overlooked workforce issue may underpin complex staffing challenges like chronic worker shortages and inadequate care delivery. Our review synthesizes the existing literature and introduces a conceptual framework based on linguistics to reconcile disparate conceptualizations and negative consequences of this stigma.