Väistämättömyyksiä ja valintoja – kertomuksia ikäihmisten asumispolulta

Abstract

Ageing and care policies in Finland emphasise ageing in place. It is perceived as a principle that supports older people to continue living in their current long-term homes with services being provided in their homes. This policy emphasis has been portrayed as a principle honouring older people’s wishes. In practice, over 90 per cent of older people continue to live in their long-term homes, often with some services being provided in their homes, and help and support from their family and kin. The focus of this study is on the experiences of older people and their close ones in this policy context of ageing in place. Narrative analysis is employed in order to explore what kinds of narratives of housing paths are being constructed, what kinds of meanings are assigned to various places of residency and what is perceived as meaningful in regard to ageing well. Interview data was gathered in two research projects conducted at the University of Jyväskylä which were funded by the Academy of Finland. Older people were interviewed in the Moving in Old Age: Transitions in Housing and Care research project and their family and kin were interviewed in the Working Carers – Caring Workers: Making Paid Employment and Care Responsibilities Compatible research project. The results verify previous understandings about older people being satisfied with their housing choices and rather reluctant to move. Long-term homes are valued, and strong meanings are assigned to them in regard to the hope of being able to continue living independently. However, older people are not willing to continue living in their own homes in all circumstances. If life in their homes no longer fulfils the characteristics assigned to homes, people are willing to move, even if moving holds strong symbolic meanings and metaphors. It is also recognised that homes can materialise in many ways: changes along the housing pathway can be construed as transitions, turning points or continuums. The ability to have agency, make choices and live according to one’s preferences is constructed as key for living well. Thus, instead of a one-sided policy emphasis on growing old at home, enough leeway should be left for agency and for older people to arrange housing, care and everyday life according to their own preferences.