Paper long abstract:

Within the area of health promotion and older citizens in Denmark there is a broad understanding of health which supports the idea of Kickbush (1992) stating that it is to be found and promoted where people live, work, play and love. Yet much policy related to health promotion and care for older people and their possibilities of receiving various services is often based on criteria valuing physical aspects of health.

Based on ethnographic studies in a senior activity centre in Copenhagen (Nørtoft 2013) I wish to explore how the concept of health sometimes becomes a barrier for individual health promotion when it is interpreted on various levels and ways which do not necessarily corresponds with individuals' understanding of themselves and their everyday lives.

The exploration takes its point of departure in the social relations and dynamics in a group of older people meeting regularly in the senior activity centre and exercise together. Attempts of defining the purpose of the group and its activities in a narrow and physically oriented health direction change the social cohesion in the group and hence its health promoting effects for the group members.

With this in mind I wish to discuss how ethnographic studies can contribute to the development of health technologies based on heath educational interventions and policy and how this knowledge from the area of care for older people can also be useful and contribute to a broader understanding of health and health technologies' role in people's everyday lives in general.