ABSTRACT
Residential homes for older people have been a focus of sustained research interest and debate. This is because of their prominence in the provision of long-term care for older people in many countries, and also because of their unique and sometimes controversial role as semi-institutional environments which fulfil diverse accommodation and care functions, to some extent filling the accommodation and care ‘gap’ that lies between fully institutional longterm health care and supported home dwelling. Indeed, residential homes are distinct from nursing homes or long-stay hospital wards because their care function only extends to personal care. However, like these other forms of care, they do provide accommodation and full board. Research interest in residential homes has occurred across a number of academic sub-disciplines including medical/health geography, medical sociology, environmental psychology, social policy and health economics, as well as across health professional research disciplines including nursing, occupational therapy and social work research (Andrews and Phillips, 2002). With a particular emphasis on geographical studies, and other studies that contribute to knowledge of residential homes as complex places, this chapter traces the broadening scope of empirical foci, changing perspectives and theoretical development on the subject over a 20-year period.
