Meaningful Engagement, Ethical Care, and Design Opportunities: An Ethnographic Study on Social Activities in Long-term Care

Abstract

Social activities in long-term care homes help promote residents' wellbeing, but their effectiveness depends on residents' engagement. To identify design opportunities for promoting meaningful engagement, we conducted an ethnographic study on organised activities in an Australian aged care home. We observed staff fostered engagement by initiating conversations, weaving residents' backgrounds into interactions, and adapting activities to residents' varying abilities. However, challenges included new staff members' unfamiliarity with residents, multi-tasking, and insufficient support to engage excluded residents. Using a care ethics lens that includes relational, situated and empathetic featur..