Background: An increasing number of people utilize the assistance of home care services, including home health and social care. Earlier research has shown that being the receiver of care in a home environment may make you vulnerable not only because of ill health and old age but also because of the subordinate role you get being in the receiving end of care. The importance of being considered an autonomous agent, despite being reliant upon care, has been focus of attention in earlier research.

Aim: The aim of this study is to explore and understand the meaning of care dependency in ordinary housing from a care receiver perspective, focusing on the ways in which people receiving home care services adapt to a situation of care dependency.

Method: The data was collected from nine Swedish municipalities. Ten respondents, 56-96 years of age, were interviewed. A phenomenological approach was used for the analysis. The study was approved by the regional ethics committee in Stockholm (2013/795-31/1).

Results: Four distinct ways of adaptive modes were found. These correlated to four obstructions to the adaptive process. Care dependency was found to be interconnected to three types of adaptive processes, i.e. adaptation to power imbalance, adaptation to specific roles/role changes, and adaptation to limitations in self and environment.