The multifaceted notion of home: Exploring the meaning of home among elderly people in the Faroe Islands

Ageing in place or staying home for as long as possible has long been the policy ideal regarding life in old age in most Western countries. The notion of home, however, is often used as an unquestioned concept that does not reflect the diversity of living conditions among older people. This paper draws upon data from a qualitative study conducted in the Faroe Islands, an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, during the winter and spring of 2013. It explores how older people living in different small island communities and one urban area within the same national context construct the meaning of home.

The findings supported the assumption that older people want to stay at home for as long as possible, but home as a concept was found to have different meanings for different older people, depending on where they lived, their personal and family history, their social connections and environmental conditions. Differences in the meaning of home for older people living in small remote communities and those living in the city were noticeable.