Social reproduction as social infrastructure: “Good treatment” of English-speaking older adults in Québec

Purpose The purpose of this study is to advance a reconceptualization of social infrastructure in social gerontology through a feminist political economy analysis of the good treatment (bientraitance) offered to marginalized older adults through the community nonprofit sector. Design/methodology/approach Three sets of data were collected regarding the good treatment provided to English-speaking older adults in Québec through Senior Wellness Initiative programs: demographic questionnaires (n = 133), four world cafés with older adult program participants, caregivers and family members, volunteers and staff (n = 163) and semistructured interviews with program coordinators and executive directors (n = 8). Findings The results advance an understanding of good treatment as “stretchy” social reproductive work that sustains individuals through interpersonal recognition and attentiveness, and by attending to their resource and support needs, while also building their connections to their smaller and broader communities. The results also point to the limits to which this work can be stretched, and the critical policy changes needed to both address the needs of the older adults attending community programs and to better support those ensuring the good treatment of older adults. Originality/value The reconceptualization of social infrastructure advanced in this study helps to disrupt neoliberal, abstracted and idealized assumptions about local communities. It shifts the focus from places to the practices and people involved in the social reproductive labor, which are the very basis of the infrastructure needed to support the good treatment of older adults, especially those who are marginalized.