Elderly adults in nursing homes in the province of Cordoba: objects of care or legal subjects?

Abstract

Argentina is among the Ibero-American countries with the greatest old age population, and is going through a process of advanced
demographic transition. Elderly adults have long been considered a vulnerable group in need of care. The purpose of this
work was to problematize the conceptions underlying the care given to the elderly in nursing homes, and the possible slides
this involves from a human rights stance. An approach to this problem was built up by resorting to secondary documentary
sources and interviews with key informants located in institutions for the elderly in the Province of Cordoba. This approach
revealed a predominantly asylum-oriented conception centered on caring for others as objects, and a noticeable lack of consideration for the elderly as legal subjects, visible in numerous serious infringements of human rights, mostly silenced and rendered invisible. It seems that to overcome these situations it will be necessary not merely to review legal loopholes and current
programs but also to reconsider the place given to the elderly in society. Regardless of their age and other social differences,
the elderly require the same opportunities to claim full respect and exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms.