Divisione del lavoro e strategie negoziali tra professionisti: uno sguardo sociologico sull'ageismo nei contesti ospedalieri

Drawing on Strauss's theory of negotiated order (1985), this article examines the everyday practices of physicians, nurses, and social workers within four Italian outpatient services serving elderly patients with cognitive decline or heart failure. Adopting a qualitative approach and based on 19 interviews, the study explores how professionals interpret and navigate organisational constraints that shape negotiations among actors and therapeutic interactions, with particular attention to the risks of ageism. Findings suggest that, alongside the risk of the routinisation of discriminatory practices, there is room for resistance through adaptive and situated professional microactions. Often subtle and invisible, these actions affirm the subjectivity of older patients and acknowledge the role of caregivers, without overtly challenging the institutional order.