Images of formal home care in Finnish newspapers – a social representations approach

Media representations play an essential role in how older adults are perceived in society. The aim of the study is to examine what kind of understanding newspaper images construct of home care and older adults as care recipients by utilizing social representations theory. The data consist of 95 images published in Finnish newspapers in 2022 and 2023. The images were analysed using visual rhetorical analysis. The media images constructed four social representations of formal home care: (1) vulnerable older adults as objects of care, (2) efficient care workers in a hurry, (3) lonely older adults at home, and (4) vital and content older adults. The images represented care workers as active agents, while the older adults were mainly presented as passive and lonely objects of care. The study shows that the images used in newspapers as depictions of home care reinforce the prevailing perceptions of older adults as a burden.