Defining Your ``Life Territory'': The Meaning of Place and Home for Community Dwellers and Nursing Home Residents-A Qualitative Study in Four European Countries

The meaning of place and home for community dwellers and nursing home residents remains unclear. We explored the relationship between older people and their ``life territory'', to propose a working definition of this concept, which could be used to orient policy decisions. Individual, semi-structured interviews were performed with older people, nursing home staff, and representatives of local institutions/elected officials in four European countries (France, Belgium, Germany, Italy). Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. In total, 54 interviews were performed. Five main themes emerged: (i) working definition of ``your life territory'' (a multidimensional concept covering individual and collective aspects); (ii) importance of the built environment (e.g., public transport, sidewalks, benches, access ramps); (iii) interactions between nursing homes and the outside community (specifically the need to maintain interactions with the local community); (iv) a sense of integration (dependent on social contacts, seniority in the area, perceived self-utility); and (v) the use of new technologies (to promote integration, social contacts and access to culture). This study found that the ``life territory'' of older people is a multidimensional concept, centred around five main domains, which together contribute to integrating older people into the fibre of their community.