How are the needs and experiences of populations with migration backgrounds considered when health systems transition towards home-based and digital solutions?
HOMESICK approaches this question through an extended concept of home. Exploring home not just as a physical space, but as a lived experience, HOMESICK aims to promote Hospital-at-home (HaH) services that not only meet clinical needs, but that are tailored and culturally sensitive to the unique needs of populations with migration backgrounds, thereby promoting a sense of feeling at home.
Aging populations and rising costs challenge the sustainability of healthcare systems. HaH models deliver medical care in patients’ homes rather than in traditional hospital settings. The approach is considered a promising innovation, offering high-quality care at reduced costs and thereby contributing to economic sustainability. HaH also seeks to promote personalized care and greater family involvement in the healing process, which can enhance patient autonomy and satisfaction and thus support social sustainability. However, few studies have examined the broader implications for patients, families, and healthcare personnel, or the potential tensions that may arise between these two forms of sustainability.
Bringing together perspectives from philosophy, social science, health, and technology, HOMESICK addresses how HaH challenges familiar experiences of the home, turning it into an arena where traditional boundaries between private and public, guest and host, patient and health care personnel are renegotiated. Building on Barbara Cassin’s broad conceptualization of “home” —not merely as a physical space but as a lived experience— HOMESICK examines the intricate relationships between socio-material circumstances, technology, ideas of home, and migration background in shaping HaH interventions for patients, families, and health personnel.
HOMESICK works closely with end user organisations to explore how home is described and experienced when HaH solutions are designed, delivered, and experienced. The research includes interviews, observations, and document analysis to gather perspectives from policy makers, technology developers, patients, families, and healthcare professionals.
HOMESICK will provide research based and in-depth insights about potential benefits and harms of HaH services for populations with migration backgrounds. The project’s findings will inform future research, policy, and health care services. This will contribute to ensure equitable and sustainable health systems transitions aligned with technological development and health systems reforms.
HOMESICK is a collaborative initiative between Centre for Digitisation, Culture and Society (Oslo Metropolitan University), Sunnås Rehabilitation Hospital and Norwegian Health Network.
The project i led by Eivind Engebretsen (UiO) and Ida Lillehagen (UiO).
