The home as a place of health care

Author: Bjornsdottir, K. Associate Professor

Faculty of Nursing, University of Iceland

Abstract

This paper will summarise the main findings from an ethnographic study of home care that took place in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland from 2001-2004. The data were interviews with people living in their homes that need assistance with health related activities, their caregivers and the RN’s in charge of their care. An additional field-study was conducted focusing on the housing condition, community resources and home environment. A total of 30 households, referred to as case studies were analyzed. Using theories from health geography, sociology and nursing this paper will focus on the participant’s experiences of the home as a place of health care. At the time of the study home care had not undergone the same rationing of services and infiltration of neo-liberal ideologies as have been observed in many other countries. Many patients talked about their experience of living at home very positively as being able to live their lives the way they choose, i.e. getting up late, going late to bed, having friends over, listening to radio and music that they like. Therefore, an important aspect of nursing services was enhancing individual agency. For the caregivers the situation was much more complex, involving both positive experiences and difficulties. The nurses described how meeting the person were he or she “is” as the core of their understanding of nursing practice, while working conditions in the are a considerable problem. These findings will be analyzed and discussed.