Media in the everyday life of nursing home residents’ is part of project “Ageing and old age in the media and elderly people’s media use” which was supported by VELUX FOUNDATIONS.
The project examines nursing homes as the institutional framework of old residents’ use of media and communication technologies, focusing on everyday life in both shared facilities and individual housing.
The research focuses on the changes happening in the use of media and communication technologies when old people move into nursing homes. From a life course perspective, what are the residents’ priorities – and what opportunities do they have for negotiating which media they want to be part of their daily lives – and for influencing the content accessed (e.g. choice of TV channel and programme) compared to earlier phases of life? What framework is constructed by the institutional context – and does the context vary with different institutional settings? How does the frailer body and brain influence the negotiation and use of specific media and technologies? What meanings are attributed to various media and technologies, both in terms of creating content and structure? Qualitative observational studies, conversations/field research, and interviews in various units at three different nursing homes make up the material. A reception analysis model has been applied, based on the concept of domestication.
The empirical data was gathered at three nursing homes. The primary perspective concerns everyday life experience with the use of media and communication technologies, complemented by the practices and understandings of family members, staff and volunteers.
The study is carried out by director, PhD Christine E. Swane.