Transformation of Research into Policies for the Aged Population: the “failed” Case of the Uk’s Guidance for the Care Sector During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The unfolding of the Covid-19COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a critical moment for healthcare systems worldwide. Decisions about scarce resources were rapidly justified based on, allegedly, neutral, and objective researchResearch-informed guidelines. Within this scenario, older adultsOlder adults and the care sector were disregarded and deemed expendable. In this chapter, we draw from Political Discourse Theory to argue that researchResearch informing policyPolicy for older adultsOlder adults, while often deemed neutral, has a social and political drive. By operationalizing this approach in doing aging research, we analyse two policiesPolicy specific to the UK context in 2020 and unpack the effects of ageist discourses and norms in shaping public health policyPolicy guidance at the start of the pandemic. Ultimately, we highlight how the problem of care for older adultsOlder adults has been constructed as one of limitations and scarcity of resources, enabled through a logic of expendable risk. We conclude that if we strive for researchResearch on older adultsOlder adults to be translated into dignityDignity driven policiesPolicy, we need to centre the matter of care.