CHRONICALLY ILL, OLD, AND INSTITUTIONALIZED - BEING A NURSING-HOME RESIDENT

An enthnography of an Israeli nursing ward is used to conceptualize four basic dilemmas that constitute the life world of residents: (1) new modes of somatic attention developed in the face of bodily decrepitude, (2) maintenance of social relations from a dependent position, (3) reconstruction of self-images in the context of identity fragmentation, and (4) redefining of subjective temporality within a cyclical ward routine. This article discusses how the combined workings of chronic illness, aging, and institutionalization are expressed in and molded through the practical solutions found to these dilemmas.