Moving stories : using photography to understand the experiences of older people living in care homes

The move into the care home has been conceptualised as one of the most difficult transitions in later life (Sussman and Dupuis 2014,Lee et al 2002). This study shares the findings of a research study that sought to understand the experiences of older people living in care homes located in the north of England. The research employed a participatory photographic research method. Following ethical approval for the study older people living in three care homes participated in a series of photography workshops and were invited to take pictures of aspects of their life that reflected what was important to them. These images then formed the basis of interviews, the content of which was analysed using an interpretative phenomenological method. Through this method older people participating in my study described the multiple transitions they faced and the challenges of simultaneously navigating this new environment whilst also making sense of the ‘alien’ body they now inhabited. The life-world of the older person in my study is one conceptualized as betwixt and between past and present, place and space, being in time and out of time, between hope and despair. The study highlighted the importance of occupation in enabling individuals to navigate the transi- tions they faced. This study has important implications for occupational therapists working in care homes, particularly in relation to the role of occupation in enabling individuals to navigate the multiple transitions they face. The study also highlights the value of photography as a method for occupational therapy research.