title: The Day-to-Day Co-Production of Ageing in Place.
abstract: We report findings from a study that set out to explore the experience of older people living with assisted living technologies and care services. We find that successful 'ageing in place' is socially and collaboratively accomplished - 'co-produced' - day-to-day by the efforts of older people, and their formal and informal networks of carers (e.g. family, friends, neighbours). First, we reveal how 'bricolage' allows care recipients and family members to customise assisted living technologies to individual needs. We argue that making customisation easier through better design must be part of making assisted living technologies 'work'. Second, we draw attention to the importance of formal and informal carers establishing and maintaining mutual awareness of the older person's circumstances day-to-day so they can act in a concerted and coordinated way when problems arise. Unfortunately, neither the design of most current assisted living technologies, nor the ways care services are typically configured, acknowledges these realities of ageing in place. We conclude that rather than more 'advanced' technologies, the success of ageing in place programmes will depend on effortful alignments in the technical, organisational and social configuration of support.
authors: Warwick University, Coventry, CV4 7AL UK.
authors: Rob
authors: R
authors: Procter
authors: Queen Mary University London, 58 Turner Street, London, E1 2AB UK.
authors: Trisha
authors: T
authors: Greenhalgh
authors: Queen Mary University London, 58 Turner Street, London, E1 2AB UK.
authors: Joe
authors: J
authors: Wherton
authors: Barts Health NHS Trust, Newham University Hospital, London, E13 8SL UK.
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Sugarhood
authors: Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YW UK.
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Rouncefield
authors: Warwick University, Coventry, CV4 7AL UK.
authors: Sue
authors: S
authors: Hinder
keywords: ageing in place; assisted living; bricolage; co-production; telecare; telehealth