Day centres are increasingly being established, as many older persons are isolated and in need of meaningful activities and social interaction with others. Previous research has shown that day centres are still an important arena for older attendees to socialise and engage in meaningful activities, although day centres are increasingly introducing activities as part of rehabilitation programmes to enhance physical and mental enablement. However, little is known about what attendees and staff regard as meaningful activities. Based on a multi-site ethnographic investigation at four day centres in Denmark and Norway in 2018 and 2019, this article examines how staff and attendees alike ‘utilise’ day care centres to pursue meaningful activities and what is considered meaningful for those attending and working there. Furthermore, this article discusses the potential for person-centred care in communities like day centres. Our study shows that activities are first and foremost perceived as meaningful if they enhance an enjoyable social dimension with ‘a touch of fresh news’. Hence, day centres function as a social space where elderly attendees can share stories and news based on personal experiences from the past and present. Consequently, person-centred care in day care centres preferably facilitates communities to give attendees something new and refreshing to bring back home with them—and not only facilitate personal histories, preferences and wishes.

中文翻译：

---

新鲜的新闻有意义吗？对丹麦和挪威四个日间中心有意义的活动进行多站点人种学分析

越来越多的日托中心被建立起来，因为许多老年人是孤立的，需要有意义的活动和与他人的社会互动。先前的研究表明，尽管日间中心越来越多地引入活动作为康复计划的一部分以增强身心能力，但日间中心仍然是老年参与者社交和参与有意义活动的重要场所。然而，对于与会者和工作人员认为什么是有意义的活动知之甚少。基于 2018 年和 2019 年在丹麦和挪威的四个日托中心进行的多站点人种学调查，本文探讨了工作人员和参与者如何“利用”日托中心开展有意义的活动，以及什么对于那些在那里参加和工作的人来说被认为是有意义的。此外，本文还讨论了日托中心等社区中以人为本的护理的潜力。我们的研究表明，如果活动通过“新鲜新闻”增强了愉快的社交维度，那么这些活动首先会被认为是有意义的。因此，日间中心作为一个社交空间发挥作用，老年参加者可以根据过去和现在的个人经历分享故事和新闻。因此，日托中心以人为本的护理最好能促进社区为参加者提供新鲜和令人耳目一新的东西，让他们带回家——而不仅仅是促进个人历史、偏好和愿望。