Place integration: A conceptual tool to understand the home modification process

Abstract

Grounded in the geographical understanding of place and the philosophy of pragmatism, the concept of place integration has been developed as a tool for framing the dynamics of people and their concrete situations. In this chapter we present and discuss how the concept of place integration can be applied to enhance understandings of older persons' everyday situations at home, using examples from empirical studies. The objects of inquiry are the time-specific situations in which experiences and actions occur as well as the transactional relationships that form the interdependencies in those situations. The focus is on the creative thoughts and actions of a sample of older people in Sweden to handle everyday life in the presence of physical barriers in the home, such as heavy doors and stairs. Applying place integration as a conceptual tool helped us to clearly see the problems and challenges that older persons were facing. It also directed our attention to the logics behind older participants' actions to handle such problems and challenges, whether they succeeded or failed in the process.