Abstract
Nursing home negotiations and narrations in challenging, transnational situations
In the city of Copenhagen a public nursing home is developing a new profile that aims at attracting older migrants and refugees together with other ethnic Danes in order to spend their last months or years in an institutional setting.
For more than 100 years Denmark has offered public nursing homes to frail older persons and hence represents a culture where institutional caretaking is accepted and expected. Today, the major part of homecare and nursing homes in Denmark are public or subsidised by state and municipalities. However, the migration populations in Denmark do not utilize public help and care in old age at any significant level.This is the reason why the municipality of Copenhagen is developing a specific ‘diversity profile’ in an existing public nursing home in Copenhagen; Peder Lykke Centeret.
In collaboration with the EGV Foundation, the municipality of Copenhagen carry out a research project during three years while the ‘diversity profile’ at the nursing home is developed. The focus is particularly on the everyday life of inhabitants, but their family caregivers and staff are also interviewed. The methodological approach is phenomenological through ethnographic fieldwork and qualitative interviews. The aim is to follow the discourses and practices related to concepts of diversity as they may change during the three years, as well as the everyday life communication, care routines and rituals related to individual social and cultural needs.
This presentation will present fieldwork experiences about how negotiations and narrations take place when language is not really a medium, but an obstacle for communication. A specific case will be discussed regarding the attempts to fathom out non-spoken intentions and desires which are difficult to grasp, giving rise to various interpretations which can lead to different identifications and powerplays.
In the city of Copenhagen a public nursing home is developing a new profile that aims at attracting older migrants and refugees together with other ethnic Danes in order to spend their last months or years in an institutional setting.
For more than 100 years Denmark has offered public nursing homes to frail older persons and hence represents a culture where institutional caretaking is accepted and expected. Today, the major part of homecare and nursing homes in Denmark are public or subsidised by state and municipalities. However, the migration populations in Denmark do not utilize public help and care in old age at any significant level.This is the reason why the municipality of Copenhagen is developing a specific ‘diversity profile’ in an existing public nursing home in Copenhagen; Peder Lykke Centeret.
In collaboration with the EGV Foundation, the municipality of Copenhagen carry out a research project during three years while the ‘diversity profile’ at the nursing home is developed. The focus is particularly on the everyday life of inhabitants, but their family caregivers and staff are also interviewed. The methodological approach is phenomenological through ethnographic fieldwork and qualitative interviews. The aim is to follow the discourses and practices related to concepts of diversity as they may change during the three years, as well as the everyday life communication, care routines and rituals related to individual social and cultural needs.
This presentation will present fieldwork experiences about how negotiations and narrations take place when language is not really a medium, but an obstacle for communication. A specific case will be discussed regarding the attempts to fathom out non-spoken intentions and desires which are difficult to grasp, giving rise to various interpretations which can lead to different identifications and powerplays.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication date | 23 May 2014 |
| Publication status | Published - 23 May 2014 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | Creative and Able Citizens: Managing health and illness during the life course - University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Duration: 22 May 2014 → 23 May 2014 |
Conference
| Conference | Creative and Able Citizens |
|---|---|
| Location | University of Helsinki |
| Country/Territory | Finland |
| City | Helsinki |
| Period | 22/05/2014 → 23/05/2014 |