Exploring the use of formal support services by Chinese people living with dementia : an institutional ethnography
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Social Work, School of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Wong, Karen Lok Yi
issued: 2025-10-20T21:14:22Z
issued: 2025
related degree: Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: This thesis aims to examine the everyday experiences of Chinese people living with dementia using formal support services in Vancouver, Canada and uncover how broader institutional practices and embedded systemic oppression shape the experiences. Research to date documents that racialized individuals are less likely to use formal services but fails to examine how structural causes, such as racism, contribute to these disparities. Adopting critical theories on race and intersectionality, this study centres race and systemic racism while considering the intersection of dementia with other social locations in the analysis. Using institutional ethnography (IE) as its methodology, the study began by interviewing Chinese individuals living with dementia to obtain their standpoint and identify problematics, the tensions arising between their everyday lives and institutional operations. This was followed by analyzing relevant texts to reveal ruling relations and dominant discourses that mediate these experiences. A key analytical step involved linking interview and textual analysis to identify disjunctures where these ruling relations are visible. Key findings reveal that experiences are textually mediated by four interconnected themes: the dominance of the biomedical lens, which prioritizes physical aspects and professional knowledge over holistic care and lived experience; the impact of neoliberalism which frames independence as a personal responsibility and dependence as a societal burden; governmental policies expectation of families to provide care; and, the invisibility of the intersection of race with age and dementia in texts which contributes to structural racism. The significance of this study lies in its reframing of dementia care, situating Chinese lived experiences within broader structural forces. It reveals the dominance of the biomedical lens, acknowledges cultural importance while challenging cultural essentialism, and exposes structural racism. The finding…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/92680
note: EXPLORING THE USE OF FORMAL SUPPORT SERVICES BY CHINESE PEOPLE LIVING WITH DEMENTIA: AN INSTITUTIONAL ETHNOGRAPHY by KAREN LOK YI WONG A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Social Work) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) October 2025 © Karen Lok Yi Wong, 2025 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: Exploring the use of formal support services by Chinese people living with dementia: an institutional ethnography submitted by Karen Lok Yi Wong in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Social Work Examining Committee: Dr. Deborah O’Connor, Professor, Social Work, UBC Supervisor Dr. Lillian Hung, Associate Professor, Nursing, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr Hannah Kia, Associate Professor, Social Work, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Laura Hurd, Professor, Kinesiology, UBC University Examiner Dr. Amy Salmon, Clinical Associate Professor, Population and Public Health, UBC University Examiner Dr. Hai Luo, Associate Professor, Social Work, University of Manitoba External Examiner Additional Supervisory Committee Members: Dr. Miu Chung Yan, Professor, Social Work, UBC Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract This thesis aims to examine the everyday experiences of Chinese people living with dementia using formal support services in Vancouver, Canada and uncover how broader institutional practices and embedded systemic oppression shape the experiences. Research to date documents that racialized individuals are less likely to use formal services but fails to examine how structural causes, such as racism, contribute to these disparities. Adopting critical theories on race and intersectionality, this study centres race and systemic racism while considering the intersection of dem…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2025-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0450501
language: eng
degree discipline: Social Work
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: O'Connor, Deborah
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/92680