The image of old age emerging from place personalization in older adults' dwellings

Abstract

This paper aims to present the process of older adults' place personalization and the image of old age emerging from it. The focus is on the material environment where participants live. This environment reveals one of the many layers of becoming an older adult. Results indicate that older people are strongly integrated into the place in which they live, and the components of this process are presented. The dwelling place echoes the acquired identity of an older person in many dimensions-physical, biographical, aesthetic, and axiological. Following main themes were generated inductively from the data, which reveals two aspects of place: the structural aspect, relating to the objects gathered - (personal belongings, aestheticization of place with objects of biographical significance, objects pointing to values), and the agency aspect, relating to the characteristic activities that older adults engage in where they live (place adaptation, command center, and customization of objects and actions). The context of the current discussion is the knowledge provided by environmental gerontology and an identity perspective on both collective and individual aspects of housing. The study was based on qualitative data-photographs of the interiors of older adult's dwellings and transcripts of conversations obtained using the photowalking technique. The analysis and interpretation of the research material was performed in accordance with visual grounded theory methodology. Findings can be used to design an environment for older adults, which may improve their quality of life. It is crucial when designing rooms in residential care homes and when sensitizing their staff to the need to provide residents with appropriate space for accumulating, storing, and displaying familiar and important objects rooted in their values, biographies, and established rituals.

Keywords: Aging-in-place; Command center; Customization; Photowalk; Place adaptation; Place aestheticization; Visual grounded theory methodology.