Quality of Life – Mind or Matter?

This book explores the highly debated construct of Quality of Life and its objective- subjective indicators. In particular, it shows how this concept was perceived amongst a small cohort of aged clients and age care workers in Perth, Western Australia. This book can be separated into three main research components. The first is a review of the seminal and current academic literature - outlining relevant gerontological, sociological and Quality of Life paradigms. The second research component uses qualitative interviews to show how respondents perceive Quality of Life amongst older people. The third component is an evaluation of the global phenomenon identified as, a rapidly ageing society. Unless governments, academics and policy-makers employ collaborative, preventative strategies aimed at reducing a decline in service delivery, the scope of aged care policy development and practice may become severely limited and the Quality of Life of older people is likely to diminish. This research highlights several avenues that would promote the individuation of care and go towards ensuring an egalitarian relationship between aged clients and service providers in the future.