Until recently in Japan, it was the responsibility of the family, particularly women, to care for the elderly. As women have become more professionally engaged, more senior citizens have moved into nursing homes, a change that has limited their ability to socially and civically participate. My research work at a care home in Fukui, Japan echoes many other studies on the social positioning of care home residents, which account increasing isolation (e.g. Brown, 2018; ter Voort et al., 2015). Some residents were hesitant to join events or talk to other residents simply because they thought of them as strangers. Older male residents had a particular tendency to become withdrawn from those living around them. More active residents were also reluctant to socialize with those that require greater amounts of care.
This paper critically reflects on the process and outcomes of a small-scale digital radio station that we developed and implemented for this Fukui care home. Concerns about social isolation have incited a host of ICT and social interventions targeted at older individuals (Mikkelsen et al., 2019; Chen and Schulz, 2016). In this case, I consider how intervention work in residential care can be managed to promote communicative agency among residents. In particular, I draw attention to the importance of positioning caregivers and residents as members of the same community.
The radio programme was designed to promote communication between staff and residents, and among residents themselves. It involved activities such as quizzes and a “phone in” style program where residents gave advise to staff members on their problems, reversing the dynamic between residents and caregivers. Three participants that were usually confined to their rooms were given a simple device developed using a Raspberry Pi chip and a 3D printed case from which they could tune in to the radio programme. Following two-days of programming, likert scale surveys and qualitative interviews were conducted with the participants and the care staff. For those in the common areas, the radio programme became a conversation starter and created a space for residents to develop familiarity with each other. Meanwhile, the three participants in their rooms enjoyed the opportunity to remotely listen to the activities.
While the participants found the radio devices easy to use, the technologies used in this project were sometimes inconsistent with the residents’ usual media habits, preferences or technical skill level and this resulted in some exclusions or frustrations. Furthermore, some care staff felt excluded from the project design. Future work should integrate residents and care staff into all stages of the project design and in ways that overcome the traditional separation between these two groups. For those in residential care, relationships with care staff can be the most important. Where ICT and social interventions are now commonplace in care homes, it is important to consider the influences of interventions on resident-caregiver relationships as the power dynamic in these relationships could be a key factor in residents’ sense of social agency.