Showroom of Fancy Technology or Homie Environment of Daily Living? a Sociological Study of Interaction between Welfare Technology and Older Residents in the “Nursing Home of the Future”

Policy makers and practitioners have promoted community-based care and living based on the idea of ageing in place. While the importance of ageing at “home” and in a familiar community has been emphasised where older residents feel attached and comfortable to age, their “home” environment has been changing due to the new trend of using welfare technology aiming to support active, independent and healthy living. As living with advanced technology is a relatively new experience for most elderly people, daily interaction with technology may add new meanings and transform their perceptions of everyday environment. However, little is known about how older persons reconstruct their perceptions and understandings of “home” when advanced technological supports come in daily living environment. Therefore, this paper explores the transforming process of individual understanding the concept of “home”, based on the reflective life-world approach which is often used to investigate lived experiences and perceptions of individuals in the studies of healthcare and nursing care. Empirically, we use the Nursing Home of the Future (located in Denmark) as case, where a number of welfare technologies have been implemented. We conduct in-depth interviews with residents of the nursing home, their families and care workers, aiming to gain a holistic understanding of the residents life world, living with fancy, new technologies. The data collection will be completed by spring 2018. Analysing data, the paper reveals 1) the changing process of taken-for-grantedness in everyday life with welfare technology and 2) mechanism of experiencing and coping with fluctuations of individual ideas for home and ageing in place among residents, families and care workers, resulted from a new interaction with welfare technology. The findings of this study contribute to the emerging literature on how ageing in nursing home is being shaped – and shape – the use of new welfare technologies.