Recipes for Systemic Change - Helsinki Design Lab

and educated, and attain the tools and the incentives to be involved moreadequately. Essentially, could the way to prepare society to better integratethe elderly. There was no good answer…In interviews with nurses at an elderly home near Helsinki, we discussedthe essentials of caring for the elderly. Everyone shared the beliefthat fighting loneliness and increasing independence were the key elementsto elderly care. Family involvement and integration into society were alsocritical. When I asked about the home care system, as an alternative tothe institutionalized nursing home system, I was initially told that integrationwas occurring between the two and that everything would be fine.But when asked which was better, I received mixed answers. One nursedefined independence (as a general goal) as being able to accomplish tasksindependently or with the assistance of a care professional, and by anotheras the feeling of self-motivation, which might be easier at home, alone.While fighting loneliness with integration was key, one nurse felt that theelderly were less lonely and better integrated when with their families,while another suggested that the elderly would prefer the company of theirpeers in a nursing home environment. While common goals were shared,the means and criteria for achieving those goals were discordant.296