This dissertation looks at old age homes in British Columbia between 1920 and 1960. It describes and explains how changes in institutional care for aging men and women intersected with professional ideals, welfare state economics and political imperatives. It also considers how broader developments altered the physical and cultural world of the institution and the strategies employed by the elderly. / Facilities for the elderly changed significantly during the period. In 1920 provision of residential care for older British Columbians was extremely limited, and existing institutions operated under a poorhouse model, providing only custodial care. By 1960 a sizeable network of provincially regulated facilities had developed. Medical professionals urged that these establishments be medical facilities and that the elderly receive compassionate, therapeutic care. / However, circumstances inside these facilities limited change. While some institutions were run along medical lines, new policy initiatives were modified by strong historical links with older systems of custodial care and punitive poorhouse ethics.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.28724 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Davies, Megan Jean |
| Contributors | Levesque, Andree (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of History.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001462143, proquestno: NN05694, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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