Nursing homes as technological habitats – Digital technology supporting everyday citizenship, participation and dignity for nursing home residents

Facts

Collaborative partner: Jönköping municipality

Project duration: 2023-2026

Research team:

Lena Rosenberg, principal investigator

Ann-Charlotte Nedlund, co-researcher at Linköpings Universitet

Camilla Malinowsky, co-researcher at Karolinska Institutet

Dino Viscovi, co-researcher at Linnéuniversitetet

Ulrika Börjesson, co-researcher

Caroline Fischl, co-researcher

Ida Adolfsson, Ph.D. candidate

Financier: FORTE: Forskningsrådet för arbetsliv, hälsa och välfärd (2023-00141)

The project explore nursing homes as technological habitats where interactions between residents, their family/friends, staff, and various technologies are continuously ongoing. In this way, we can learn from the technology already in use and promote the introduction of new technology in nursing homes in ways that support residents’ everyday citizenship, participation, and dignity.

Rationale for the Study

Technological solutions are often highlighted as an important strategy to address challenges in elder care. At the same time, there is a prevailing perception that technology use in elder care is limited and that the digitalisation of nursing homes lies ahead in the future. Nevertheless, there is already a wide range of digital technology in nursing homes, such as alarm systems, locking systems, smartphones, and computers. Older persons moving into nursing homes are often technology users, yet their personal use of technology is rarely acknowledged — either in research or in practice.

Materials and Methods

The project has an ethnographic design with both qualitative and quantitative data. Field studies are being conducted in nursing homes in Jönköping Municipality, using participant observations, interview-based assessments, focus groups, and participant-oriented workshops.