"There's no place like home, but…": dependent older adults' narratives on the health and well-being limits of ageing in place.

Ageing in place emerged not as a fixed preference but as a fragile and continuously negotiated process of the person-place relationship.

• Study conducted 30 in-depth interviews with individuals aged 65 and older in Barcelona, Spain
• All participants were officially recognized as having some degree of dependency
• Interviews were analysed using a thematic approach according to environmental gerontology and person-environment fit frameworks
• Remaining at home was found to be sustained by symbolic autonomy and attachment to familiar environments

Remaining at home supports control over daily routines and a sense of dignity through symbolic autonomy and attachment to familiar environments.

• Participants described attachment to familiar environments as a key sustaining factor for ageing in place
• Symbolic autonomy was identified as a mechanism through which home supports dignity and quality of life
• Control over daily routines was linked to maintaining a sense of dignity among dependent older adults

Dependent older adults described a state of 'care liminality,' continuously reassessing their ability to remain at home in light of anticipated health decline.

• The concept of care liminality captures participants' ongoing reassessment process
• Anticipation of future health decline was a central feature of this liminal state
• This liminality was identified as a defining feature of the ageing-in-place experience among dependent older adults
• The liminal state involved continuously negotiating the person-place relationship

Three interconnected boundaries were identified that define the limits of ageing in place for dependent older adults: deteriorating health, perceived burden on family members, and loneliness.

• Deteriorating health was identified as the first boundary condition undermining ageing in place
• Perceived burden on family members constituted a second boundary, reflecting the relational nature of care decisions
• Loneliness was identified as a third boundary condition affecting the sustainability of ageing in place
• The three boundaries were described as interconnected rather than discrete
• These boundaries were defined by participants themselves rather than imposed by external clinical or policy criteria

Recognising older adults' own definitions of the limits of ageing in place is essential for designing responsive care policies.

• The study argues that ageing-in-place policies must move beyond treating home-based care as a universal ideal
• Participants' self-defined thresholds for when home becomes unsustainable differed from standard clinical or administrative assessments
• The findings suggest care policies should be designed to support health, dignity, and well-being as defined by older adults themselves
• The authors call for a conditional and relational understanding of ageing in place in policy design

Ageing in place is widely promoted in ageing societies, but less is known about how dependent older adults themselves define its limits.

• The study was situated in the context of ageing societies where home-based care is a dominant policy orientation
• A gap was identified in the literature regarding the subjective perspectives of dependent older adults on the boundaries of ageing in place
• The study addresses this gap by examining lived experiences of officially recognized dependent older adults
• Barcelona, Spain served as the research site, with 30 participants aged 65 and older