scholarly journals Evaluating Spaces for Older Adults Experiencing Homelessness: Findings From an Environmental Audit

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 292-293
Author(s):  
Émilie Cormier ◽  
Diandra Serrano ◽  
Atiya Mahmood ◽  
Tamara Sussman ◽  
Valérie Bourgeois-Guerin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Environmental Audit ◽  
Promising Practices ◽  
Overall Design ◽  
Life Trajectories ◽  
Recreation Opportunities ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
The Right

Abstract Homeless populations require spaces and services that take into account their life trajectories. The Aging in the Right Place - Environmental Checklist (AIRP-ENV) is an environmental audit tool developed by our team to evaluate the accessibility and overall design features of housing targeted for aging individuals experiencing homelessness. Researchers in Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal employed this tool in 2021 to evaluate environmental features in selected promising practices to identify built environment factors that promote aging in the right place. Preliminary findings reveal the following themes across sites: access to communal and recreational spaces encourage social inclusion and meaningful recreation opportunities; barrier-free built environment features foster independence and safety; and access to services and amenities encourage community mobility. Findings demonstrate a need to employ a broader evaluative lens that incorporates psycho-social factors to gain a nuanced understanding of aging in the right place for older adults who have experienced homelessness.

scholarly journals Reframing Aging-in-the-Right-Place for Housing Insecure Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 707-707
Author(s):  
Sarah Canham ◽  
Mineko Wada ◽  
Stephen Golant
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Promising Practices ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Age In Place ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
Work Community ◽  
The Right

Abstract Amidst rising costs of housing and changing personal needs, considerations of the availability of appropriate and accessible housing are becoming increasingly salient for older adults. While it has been widely acknowledged that older adults would prefer to age-in-place, recent reframing of this trend promotes the ideal as aging-in-the-right-place. This symposium will provide an updated understanding of how to support older adults’ ability to age-in-the-right-place, regardless of income or physical, mental, or social status. Presenters include international and interdisciplinary researchers representing perspectives from gerontology, social work, community planning, and health sciences. The symposium will begin with Wada examining resilience scholarship, with a focus on older people who are experiencing homelessness, which has been largely neglected. In the next presentation, Humphries will outline distinct, senior-specific needs and shelter/housing solutions for newly and chronically homeless older adults. Following, Canham will describe promising practices of shelter/housing to support aging-in-the-right-place for older people experiencing homelessness in Montréal, Calgary, and Vancouver identified through an environmental scan. Extending these efforts to an international scale, Mahmood will outline findings from a scoping review of supportive shelter/housing options, supports, and interventions. A final presentation will report on how community development practices implemented by a not-for-profit affordable housing provider promote older tenants’ food security and social support needs. Stephen Golant, a leading expert on housing, geography, and long-term needs on older adults, will discuss implications of these studies for policy and practice for supporting housing insecure older adults while advancing scholarship on aging-in-the-right-place for this marginalized population. Environmental Gerontology Interest Group Sponsored Symposium.

scholarly journals Environmental Assessment of Housing for Older Adults Facing Housing Insecurity

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 531-531
Author(s):  
Atiya Mahmood ◽  
Muhammad Qureshi ◽  
Habib Chaudhury ◽  
Sarah Canham ◽  
Rachel Weldrick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Transitional Housing ◽  
Housing Program ◽  
Contextual Data ◽  
Housing Stability ◽  
Permanent Supportive Housing ◽  
The Right ◽  
Support Housing

Abstract The Aging in the Right Place Environmental Audit (AIRP-ENV) and Secondary Observation (AIRP-ENV-SO) tools were developed to conduct observation-based audit of the built environment in shelters, transitional housing, independent housing with offsite/onsite supports, and permanent supportive housing with onsite medical and/or specialized services for older adults experiencing (or at risk of) homelessness. The 241 item AIRP-ENV tool is used to audit the presence/absence of exterior and interior built environmental features that support housing stability. The seven open-ended questions in the AIRP-ENV-SO tool is used to collect contextual data on function, safety and land-use of surrounding neighborhood. Data were collected at four sites of a transitional housing program in Vancouver, Canada as part of a multi-year, multi-city partnership project on aging and homelessness. Preliminary results demonstrate that built environment and urban design features (e.g., access, privacy, flexible and supportive spaces) contribute towards tenants’ residential resiliency and aging in place.

scholarly journals Migration and Aging in the Right Place: Older Puerto Rican Adults’ Narratives

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 509-509
Author(s):  
Brooke Jespersen
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Family Based ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract This research examines meanings of aging in the “right” place (Golant, 2015) among older adults who have grown up and grown older in migratory contexts. This qualitative research is based on semi-structured and life history interviews with 30 low socio-economic status Puerto Rican adults over the age of 60 who reside in Cuyahoga County, Ohio and have engaged in Puerto Rico-US migration throughout the life course. Inductive thematic analysis of interviews revealed fraught, multi-scalar narratives of aging in the “right” place. At the level of residence type, older adults’ narratives exhibited a tension between interdependence and independence. That is to say, they struggled to reconcile cultural preferences for family-based living arrangements with fears of becoming a burden. At the level of nation, a similar tension manifested. Older adults reported navigating differential citizenship rights, access to healthcare and social services, natural disasters, and experiences of social inclusion and exclusion via migration between Puerto Rico and the US mainland. Thus, aging in the “right” place was complex, if not altogether elusive, as inequitable circumstances obliged older adults to make tradeoffs regardless of where they lived. These findings extend scholarship on aging in the “right” place, which has focused on residence type, by considering how older adults negotiate aging within and across households, communities, and nations. Moreover, these findings highlight how challenging aging in the “right” place can be for migrating and disadvantaged populations.

scholarly journals Aging in the Right Place? Photovoice With Older Adults Residing in Shelters During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 292-292
Author(s):  
Jill Hoselton Christine Walsh ◽  
Vibha Kaushik
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Support Needs ◽  
Diverse Group ◽  
Promising Practices ◽  
Older Person ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Critical Dialogue ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
The Right

Abstract Aging in the right place (AIRP) involves supporting older adults to live as long as possible in their homes and communities, recognizing that where an older person lives impacts their ability to age optimally and must match their unique lifestyles and vulnerabilities. Photovoice, a participatory action research strategy, allows people to document their experiences through photography, promoting critical dialogue about issues such as AIRP and rights-based housing. This presentation highlights the concept of AIRP from the perspectives of a diverse group of older adults living in promising practices shelters in Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary, Canada using photovoice. Findings indicate that the process promoted a sense of empowerment among participants. Insights about older adults’ perceptions of AIRP residing in shelters to best meet their intersectional identities, housing, and support needs will be shared. Findings inform policy initiatives that promote AIRP and the right to adequate housing for older adults experiencing homelessness.

scholarly journals Empirical Evidence for Professional Practice and Public Policies: An Exploratory Study on Social Exclusion in Users of Primary Care Social Services in Spain

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (23) ◽  
pp. 4600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giménez‐Bertomeu ◽  
Domenech‐López ◽  
Mateo‐Pérez ◽  
de‐Alfonseti‐Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Acceptance ◽  
Life Trajectories ◽  
The Social ◽  
Study Population ◽  
The University

This study examines the social exclusion characteristics of a sample of users of primary care social services in two local entities in Spain. The objective of this study was to identify the intensity and scope of social exclusion in an exploratory way and to look at the typology of existing exclusionary situations to inform policy making and professional practice. Data from 1009 users were collected by primary care social services professionals, completing the Social Exclusion Scale of the University of Alicante (SES-UA). The dimensions with the greatest levels of social exclusion in the study population were those related to work/employment, income and education and training. The dimensions with an intermediate level of exclusion were those related to housing and social isolation. Social acceptance, family and social conflict and health were the dimensions with the lowest levels of exclusion. The analysis also showed the existence of five significantly different groups, that showed five different life trajectories along the continuum between social exclusion and social inclusion. The results show the importance and utility of developing professional and policy intervention protocols based on research evidence, with the objective of improving the quality of life of the users.

scholarly journals Older Adults and Technology Use: A Systematic Literature Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 823-823
Author(s):  
Hyung Wook Choi ◽  
Rose Ann DiMaria-Ghalili ◽  
Mat Kelly ◽  
Alexander Poole ◽  
Erjia Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Smart Technologies ◽  
Age Range

Abstract Researchers are increasingly interested in leveraging technology to support the physical and mental well-being of older adults. We systematically reviewed previous scholars’ criteria for sampling older adult populations, focusing on age cohorts (namely adults over 65) and their use of internet and smart technologies. We iteratively developed keyword combinations that represent older adults and technology from the retrieved literature. Between 2011 and 2020, 70 systematic reviews were identified, 26 of which met our inclusion criteria for full review. Most important, not one of the 26 papers used a sample population classification more fine-grained than “65 and older.” A knowledge gap thus exists; researchers lack a nuanced understanding of differences within this extraordinarily broad age-range. Demographics that we propose to analyze empirically include not only finer measures of age (e.g., 65-70 or 71-75, as opposed to “65 and older”), but also those age groups’ attitudes toward and capacity for technology use.

scholarly journals The potential for person-centred planning to support the community participation of adults with an intellectual disability

2021 ◽  
pp. 174462952110221
Author(s):  
Darren McCausland ◽  
Esther Murphy ◽  
Mary McCarron ◽  
Philip McCallion
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Community Participation ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Complex Needs ◽  
Qualitative Case Studies ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Person-centred planning (PCP) puts individuals with an intellectual disability at the centre of service and support planning, identifying how individuals wish to live their lives and what is needed to make that possible. PCP has been identified as having the potential to facilitate improved social inclusion and community participation. A mixed-methods approach combined quantitative analyses with qualitative case studies of individuals with severe-profound intellectual disability to assess the impact of PCP on community participation for adults with an intellectual disability at a disability service in Dublin. We conclude that PCP may provide a good basis to plan community participation and, with the right supports in place, may provide opportunities for people with complex needs to improve their community participation. Supports including familiar staff and family are critical to the success of PCP for people with complex needs, and their absence may undermine the best intentions of PCP for this population.

Perceptions of the Neighborhood Built Environment for Walking Behavior in Older Adults Living in Close Proximity

2020 ◽  
pp. 073346482097925
Author(s):  
Florian Herbolsheimer ◽  
Atiya Mahmood ◽  
Nadine Ungar ◽  
Yvonne L. Michael ◽  
Frank Oswald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Subjective Assessment ◽  
Neighborhood Environment ◽  
Walking Behavior ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Physical Limitations ◽  
Pedestrian Infrastructure ◽  
Neighborhood Built Environment

Past research documents a discordance between perceived and objectively assessed neighborhood environmental features on walking behavior. Therefore, we examined differences in the perception of the same neighborhood built environment. Participants were grouped if they lived 400 m or closer to each other. The perception of the pedestrian infrastructure, neighborhood aesthetics, safety from crime, and safety from traffic was derived from a telephone survey from two North American metropolitan areas; 173 individuals were clustered into 42 groups. Older adults who walked for transport in their neighborhood experienced the same neighborhood as more walkable (β = .19; p = .011) with better pedestrian infrastructure (β = .16; p = .037). Older adults with physical limitations experienced the same neighborhood as less safe from crime (β = −.17; p = .030) and traffic (β = −.20; p = .009). The study supports the notion that individual behavior and physical restrictions alter the environment’s perception and explains part of the discordance between objective and subjective assessment of the neighborhood environment.

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