Photovoicing the neighbourhood: Understanding the situated meaning of intangible places for ageing-in-place

Abstract

Ageing-in-place is considered important for the health of older adults. In this paper, inspired by a constructivist approach to ageing-in-place, we unravel professionals' and older adults' constructions of ageing-in-place. Their perspectives are studied in relation to a policy that aims to develop so-called 'lifecycle-robust neighbourhoods' in the southern part of the Netherlands. We conducted a photovoice study in which 18 older adults (70-85 years) living independently and 14 professionals (social workers, housing consultants, neighbourhood managers and community workers) were asked to photograph and discuss the places they consider important for ageing-in-place. Based on a theoretically informed analysis of the data, we found that professionals primarily consider objective characteristics of neighbourhoods such as access to amenities, mobility and meeting places as important enablers for older adults to remain living independently. Analysis of older adults' photographs and stories show that they associate ageing-in-place with specific lived experiences and attachments to specific, intangible and memory-laden public places. We conclude that exploring these experiences helps to increase current knowledge about place attachment in old age.

Photovoice and empowerment: evaluating the transformative potential of a participatory action research project

“…Firstly, Photovoice builds on Freire’s methods of empowerment education [ 4 ] with one main element being the acquisition of knowledge that the participants collectively produce by reflecting on and discussing community issues. Secondly, Photovoice is able to ‘voice’ and represent individual perceptions [ 5 ]: this is an essential element of the Photovoice process and is often associated with empowerment, particularly emphasized in discourses on women’s empowerment [ 6 ]. Thirdly, feminist theory, is meant to empower vulnerable populations, and recognize local expertise that cannot be fully realized from the outside [ 7 ].…”

Socio‐spatial and quality of life themes in aged care architecture: A qualitative methods protocol

“…It is proposed a total of 15-30 participants across the three participant groups from each RACF will likely lead to data saturation. The desired sample size is consistent with international research that has used photo production as a primary data collection method (van Hees, Horstman, Jansen, & Ruwaard, 2017;van Hoof et al, 2016). The participant photo production data and observational data will provide critical and in-depth insight into the residents' lived experience and what feeling at home means in different RACFs.…”

“…Specifically, Tester, Hubbard, Downs, MacDonald, and Murphy (2004) identified the following four key areas: a sense of self, the care environment, relationships, and social support. Furthermore, Edwards, Courtney, and O'Reilly (2003) concluded QoL also related to autonomy, choice, social needs, independence, and social relationships.…”

Urban Living Environment and Mental Health of Older People: A Photovoice Study

“…Despite a few exceptions, there is currently only a small amount of photovoice studies addressing older people's experiences with their living environment and its impact on their mental health. These studies explored places that were important for ageing-in-place, perceptions of cities and age-friendly communities, physical and social aspects of neighborhoods that can facilitate or hinder physical activity or community perceptions of built and social environment (9,25,29,30). Participants contributed to this study by taking photographs of aspects of their living environment that were important to them and that impact their well-being.…”