“Advanced Old Age in the Life Course: Studies on Care Trajectories of Fourth-Age Individuals in Chile”, a lecture by Catalina Arteaga and Paulina Osorio, University of Chile.

Paulina Osorio and Catalina Arteaga will present the results of their research, which seeks to understand the configuration of care trajectories among people in the fourth age, within contexts of socio-family transformations in the experience of advanced old age. While many studies on longevity have focused on medical, biological, environmental, and psychosocial factors that influence life extension, the field of social gerontology has seen the emergence of works that highlight everyday life and living conditions among people in the fourth age.

This perspective is particularly relevant in a context where old age appears as an increasingly extended, diverse, and complex stage of life, one that is shaped by changing care dynamics. Studies have shown that people in the fourth age are not positioned solely as recipients but also as providers of care—roles that evolve throughout the life course.

From a life course perspective, advanced aging will be studied through care trajectories, emphasizing the events that have shaped and/or transformed them. The research is conducted in Chile, specifically in the territories of the Metropolitan Region and Valparaíso, and is framed within a qualitative and ethnographic methodology that employs direct observation as its main strategy, along with in-depth interviews and life calendars as data collection techniques.

Link to their profile: https://rediger.uchile.cl/equipo_academicos_coordinadoras.html

Organized by:
IRMO International Relations and Mobility Office
IPRODES Research Group
Red IGER