Understanding the relationships connecting everyday life, care, and the physical environment in nursing homes – a new collaborative framework

Research problem and specific questions:There have been earlier attempts to explore care provision, everyday life, and the physical environment in nursing homes (NHs); however, there is a persisting knowledge gap about how these are related.

It is important to address this knowledge gap and to develop tools for care and design practices to increase understanding about the complexity of NHs and the consequences of design for NH residents and staff.

Thus, the overall aim of the project is to provide an in-depth understanding of the relationships that connect the provision of care, the physical environment, and everyday life in NHs.

The specific aim of the project is to develop a guiding framework as a tool for planning the provision of care, everyday life, and the design of the physical environment in NHs.Research questions:What can be learnt from challenging situations, such as the Coronavirus pandemic, about how the goal to provide care and an enjoyable life in NH settings can be maintained?How are the NH settings used, shaped, and experienced by residents, staff, and significant others, in comparison to the intended ideas and designs of the planners, architects and landscape architects?What are the beneficial contributions and/or limitations of a collaborative approach regarding the planning and design of nursing homes?What are the implications of this project in terms of knowledge that can be translated into a model for practice and tools for care- and design practices of NH settings?

Data and method The project has a collaborative design. Data will be collected through participant observations, workshops and interviews in 12 NHs. Architect proposals and drawings will also serve as data. Data will be analysed using a qualitative interpretative approach.

Plan for project realisationTo support its realisation, the project builds on an earlier project and uses a collaborative approach with researchers, partners (i.e., planners, architects, and landscape architects) and stakeholders (i.e., NH residents, significant others, staff, and management). Relevance700 new NHs need to be built to meet the expected needs of an ageing population in Sweden.

The findings from this project, including the guiding framework, will contribute to the planning and design of NHs that support care and an enjoyable life for residents and appropriate working environments for staff. Thus, this project is timely and fits into the field of societal issues of relevance for FORTE.