The paper will draw on the findings from a larger study which explored quality of life issues as perceived by residents, relatives and staff who live, visit and work in residential care settings (Murphy et al., 2006).  A mixed method design incorporating both qualitative and quantitative elements was utilised.  Three methods were employed within this study; (1) focus groups (2) quantitative survey of long-stay facilities and (3) qualitative interviews with residents and staff.  The findings reported here arise from the qualitative interviews with residents (n = 101).  Qualitative data was analysed using the constant comparative technique.

A key finding was that older people living in residential care settings work to maintain a sense of self.  The ease with which they achieved this varied across type of care setting.  A number of enabling or inhibiting factors were identified.  In general, older people need to feel at home in order to express their identity.  They were more likely to feel at home if they could express their identity through their personal appearance, story telling and memories, personal possessions and preferences for personal space.  The strategies older people used and what was important to them will be explored in this paper and illustrated using residents’ comments.  Implications for practice will be addressed.