Regulation in long-term institutions. A work of care and accompaniment to the elderly

Regulation in long-term institutions. A work of care and accompaniment to the elderly Work in long-term institutions for the elderly is made of numerous regulation activities. These activities aim at preserving the social identity of residents who can no longer comply with usual social norms because of their deficiencies. In front of an ageing process paved by many problems, professional interventions entail an intertwined intimate judgment on how to behave, and on what to do. The primary objective of regulation activities is not to fit to external or internal rules, but to respect cultural norms of behaviour that are socially established and accepted by all practitioners. In that sense, care is a work that is conjointly practical and intellectual, based on experience, cognitive and theoretical knowledge, as well as acquired sensitivity.