The call-bell in residential care homes: Experiences of residents and staff

• Published in: Journal of aging studies Vol. 62; p. 101056
• Main Authors: Stranz, Anneli, Tishelman, Carol, Westerlund, Bo, Nilsson, Felicia, Hilton, Rebecca, Goliath, Ida
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.09.2022
• Subjects: Care environment; End of life care; Institutional care/residential care; Interpersonal relations; Knowledge exchange; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Participatory action research; Interpersonal relations; End of life care; Knowledge exchange; Institutional care/residential care; Participatory action research; Care environment
• ISSN: 0890-4065; 1879-193X; 1879-193X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaging.2022.101056

Call-bells are often taken-for-granted systems to heighten safety. In joint discussions among residential care home (RCH) residents, their family members, and staff, issues related to call-bell use in everyday life and work were repeatedly raised. In this article, we explore these experience-based perspectives, addressing several key questions important for call-bell use and communication. We inductively analyzed a series of individual interviews and group discussions with 44 individuals at two units of the same Swedish RCH, conducted as part of a participatory action research project to strengthen supportive end-of-life environments. While the call-bell was a central part of RCH communication, we found: fragmented understanding about how the call bell functioned among all participants; many residents lacked the physical and cognitive competencies demanded for call-bell use; tensions between use of the call-bell for social/existential communication versus purely discrete tasks; and that a call-bell system assuming room-bound residents exacerbated issues related to varied response times, lack of feedback mechanisms, and pressured work situations. Investigation of the call-bell system provides an empirical example of how complex relationships among stakeholders are played out in concrete situations. Tensions between different logics of care, and between clock and embodied time become evident. •Call-bells are often taken-for-granted systems to heighten safety.•Call-bells play a central part of communication in residential care homes.•Residents recognized a hierarchy of needs in responses to call-bell.•Conflicting logics between clock and embodied time became evident.•Technology needs to be adaptable to meet varied stakeholders needs.