Abstract
The growth in the older population is a focal point on the human rights agenda, particularly with the change in traditional family structure, the rise of migration, and the growing demand for residential aged care facilities (RACFs). Given the complexity of human rights concerns in residential aged care, the intersection of older adults, human rights, and social work is a crucial matter for discussion. The present study explores the commonalities and variations in the social workers’ perceptions of rights-based practices (RBP) with older adults in the residential aged care facilities of Ontario, Canada, and Kerala, India, in two contexts, one from the Global North and the other Global South, both with rising demand for aged care facilities. Nineteen social workers participated in the interview following data saturation. The analysis grounded in Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenology has revealed four themes and 13 cluster themes. Most participants were from private residential aged care facilities, which might have influenced their views and experiences. The identified themes “essential considerations for effective RBP in RACFs”, “vital functions of social workers for RBP in RACFs”, “perpetual competency building for RBP in RACFs”, and “challenges to RBP implementation in the RACFs” are presented and discussed.