Critically Reflect on the Ways in Which Your Own Life Course Had Affected How You Work in, or Use, Health and Social Care

Working in health and social care sector might be too challenging as it involves dealing with different people from different backgrounds. Sometimes it is beneficial to take a life course perspective as it gives the understanding of people’s negative attitude towards their health and wellbeing. As we reach the process of getting old also known as ageing, we all have a life course to reflect own. Reflecting on the ways in which my own life course had affected how I work in the health and social care sector helped me as an individual in better engagement with service users of health and social care. Before reflecting back on my own experiences of working in care and support services, I have to define the meaning of life course and mention five principles of life course. Life course theory also known as life course perspective refers to the values and concepts for studying the lives of people, social change and structural context and life course perspective stresses out on the importance of family life, time and historical conditions. (Bengston et al, 2005). The author Bengston and his colleagues define life course concept as the sequence of age related changes that are integrated in social institutions and history. These changes do not normally proceed in successive order, however they combine the total result of the actual experience of an individual. In order for us to understand the operation of life course analysis, they are five principles to consider. These life course principles by Bengston can be summarized as; linked lives, time and place, timing of major life transitions, agency and the idea of planfulness on life outcomes and lastly ageing and human development are life-long process. I will explore the five principles through the experience of my own life course in the next sections to