Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review | DOI: 10.13060/csr.2026.007

Food Provision as a Practice of Individualised Care: A Discourse Analysis of Care in Nursing Homes and Memory Care Units

Martina Němcová ORCID..., Marcela Petrová Kafková ORCID...
Katedra sociologie, Fakulta sociálních studií, Masarykova univerzita, Brno

This article examines how the broader societal discourse of individualisation permeates the field of care for older adults through the example of food provision in nursing homes and memory care units. Drawing on a critical discursive analysis of interviews with care staff, the study identifies key discourses that shape how individualisation is articulated and enacted within institutional settings. The analysis highlights how economic, organisational, and institutional factors, as well as the roles attributed to clients and their families, contribute to specific constructions of individualised food provision. The article explores how the rhetoric of individualisation is embedded in professional talk and reflects broader shifts in the governance and expectations of care.

Keywords:
\r\n
individualisation, food, older adults, residential care home, critical discursive analysis

Received: September 18, 2025; Revised: February 12, 2026; Accepted: February 18, 2026; Prepublished online: March 17, 2026 

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