Comparative conceptualisation of disability and aged support services as a right, intrusion and complement to other support in Australia and Sweden
Carmel Laragy, Karen Fisher and Elisabet Cedersund
RMIT, Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW, and Jönköping University
Contact Email:   carmel.laragyrmit.edu.au

Do people who are ageing or experience disabilities conceptualise formal support services in their home as a right, intrusion or complement to their other support? This paper analyses qualitative data from interviews with people with support or wanting support in their home to test these conceptualisations of formal support from four Australian and Swedish studies. The analysis identifies that the way people talk about formal support in their home includes their right to receive support and the desire for control over the way the support is organised; experience of support complementing other relationships and activities; and experience of support as intrusive. The comparative analysis highlights the effect of different senses of entitlement on the other concepts of control, intrusion and complementing relationships. The findings have implications for aged and disability support policy, including the interface between formal and information support and people’s control of formal support arrangements.

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