Space and place for health and care

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ABSTRACT

Purpose: This discussion paper aims to contribute to a greater understanding of the state of the art of research engaged with conceptual matters of space and place for health and care.

Method: The authors, who represent a variety of academic disciplines, discuss and demonstrate the conceptual recognition of space and place in research in health and caring sciences building upon own work and experience.

Results: To explore the concepts of space and place for health and care is a research pursuit of utmost importance, and should be made through transdisciplinary research collaborations, whereby spatial theories from various disciplines could be communicated to cultivate truly novel and well-informed research. Furthermore, engaging with relational and topological perceptions of space and place poses methodological challenges to overcome in future research on health and care.

Conclusions: We argue that there is a need for accelerating spatially informed research on health and care that is informed by current theories and perspectives on space and place, and transdisciplinary research collaborations are a means to achieving this.

KEYWORDS:

• Space
• place
• health
• care
• transdisciplinarity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Åsa Roxberg

Åsa Roxberg, RN, RNT, Mc, PhD in Caring science. Åsa holds the position of professor at Halmstad University and at University West, Sweden. Since 2019 she is also professor at VID University in Bergen, Norway. Åsa Roxberg’s research area is approaching existential health, with expertise in the field of caring sciences, the philosophy of hermeneutics, and to some extent phenomenology by means of qualitative research methodology. [email protected]

Kristina Tryselius

Kristina Tryselius holds a PhD in Human Geography and is a lecturer at the Department of Health and Caring Sciences, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden. She is also a Registered Nurse with clinical and research experience in palliative care. Kristina’s research interests dwell in the disciplinary borderlands of human geography and health- and caring sciences. Orcid.org/0000-0001-7252-9278. [email protected]

Martin Gren

Martin Gren holds a PhD in Human Geography and is associate professor at the Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden. He has edited and authored books, including a widely used textbook in Swedish on the discipline theory of human geography, as well as published articles in journals. His research is centred on the re-conceptualization of the Earth in the Anthropocene and terrestrial politics in the climatic regime. [email protected]

Berit Lindahl

Berit Lindahl, is Professor in Caring Science and an Intensive Care Nurse. She is active within nursing education and doctoral education programmes at University of Borås, faculty of Caring Science, Work Life and Social Welfare. She also holds a guest professorship at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Lindahl has published studies about intensive care and the life situation for people, children and adults that uses home mechanical ventilator treatment. [email protected]

Carina Werkander Harstäde

Carina Werkander Harstäde holds a PhD in Caring Science and is a lecturer at the Department of Health and Caring Sciences, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden. She has published articles in scientific journals and book chapters in the field of palliative care. Her research is centred on dignity, and guilt and shame in palliative care. [email protected]

Anastasia Silverglow

Anastasia Silverglow is a PhD-student at the Institute of Health and Care Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Her postgraduate project is about developing and co-creating safe home care for frail older people living at home. [email protected]

Kajsa Nolbeck

Kajsa Nolbeck holds a Degree of Master of Medicine with a major in Public Health and is a PhD student at Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University. [email protected]

Franz James

Franz James, Doctoral Student, MFA. HDK– Academy for Design and Crafts, University of Gothenburg. Senior lecturer in furniture design, HDK-Steneby University of Gothenburg. James is a practicing interior and product designer for secure compulsory care environments. He is a doctoral student in Design with the project “Carceral design –Understanding the meaning and impact of objects, furniture and interior design in institutional spaces of incarceration and care. James’ research involves the impact and meaning of the physical environment in prisons, psychiatric hospitals and forensic psychiatric hospitals, using primarily qualitative methods in relation to the user’s perspective. [email protected]

Ing-Marie Carlsson

Ing-Marie Carlsson holds a PhD in Nursing Science, is a lecturer, and holds the position of head of the department in Health and Nursing at the Department of Health and welfare, Halmstad University, Halmstad, Sweden. Ing-Marie Carlsson has conducted several health science projects focusing on childbirth and has also an interest in the research field of health geography. Further, she has an expertise in the methodology of grounded theory. [email protected]

Sepideh Olausson

Sepideh Olausson is a critical care nurse at background and holds a PhD in caring science. Sepideh is senior lecturer at Gothenburg University and affiliated to Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental health at Gothenburg University Hospital. Her research involves the impact of the physical environment, on health and wellbeing, in various health-care settings. Sepideh is a member of multi-disciplinary research group examining the meaning of the physical environment in special residential youth home and in forensic psychiatric care setting. [email protected]

Susanna Nordin

Susanna Nordin holds a PhD in Medical Science and is a lecturer in nursing at School of Education, Health and Social Studies at Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden. Her research focuses on the physical environment in residential care facilities for older people. [email protected]

Helle Wijk

Helle Wijk is a registered nurse, senior lecturer, and professor at Gothenburg University and Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The work involves teaching, research, and development in nursing. Helle is the principal investigator for the research group Health Care Environment. She is also affiliated researcher at the Centre for Health Care Architecture at Chalmers and involved in the research project Inquiries, Innovation and Implementation Strategies for Resilient Residential Qualities. Situations of Dwelling, Ageing And Healthcaring in Transdisciplinary Collaboration. Helle is a board member of the Forum for Healthcare Architecture. https://caresci.gu.se/forskning/profilomrade/vardmiljoer. [email protected]