scholarly journals Examining Community-Based Housing Models to Support Aging in Place: A Scoping Review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Chum ◽  
Griffin Fitzhenry ◽  
Kali Robinson ◽  
Michelle Murphy ◽  
Delyth Phan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Objectives With the global population aging, there is a demand for older adults to age in place, that is, to live and age well in their home and community with some level of independence. Community-based housing models exist and may support this process. This scoping review aimed to describe and synthesize the ways in which community-based housing models relate to older adults’ aging in place and identify strengths and gaps in the literature. Research Design and Methods The housing models explored were villages, naturally occurring retirement communities, congregate housing and cohousing, sheltered housing, and continuing care retirement communities. This exploratory scoping review examined international peer-reviewed literature published from 2004 to 2019. Six databases were searched using terms related to housing models and older adults. Forty-six articles met the inclusion criteria. Descriptive numerical summary and thematic analysis were used to synthesize study characteristics and findings. Results Our analysis revealed 4 themes relating to aging in place in the housing models: Social Relations, Health and Well-being, Sense of Self and Autonomy, and Activity Participation. Further analysis identified housing-specific characteristics that appeared to pose barriers to, or enable, aging in place. Discussion and Implications To best support aging in place, the findings of the review suggest multiple characteristics worth considering when developing or relocating to a community-based housing model. Further research is required to understand how facilitating characteristics can promote aging in place for community-dwelling older adults.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Parniak ◽  
Vince G DePaul ◽  
Clare Frymire ◽  
Samuel DePaul ◽  
Catherine Donnelly

BACKGROUND As Canada’s population ages there is a need to explore community-based solutions to support older adults. Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs), defined by Hunt and Gunter-Hunt in 1986 as buildings or areas not specifically designed for, but which attracts, older adults and associated supportive service programming (NORC-SSP) have been described as potential resources to support aging-in-place. However, while the body of literature on NORCs has been growing since the 1980s, no synthesis of this work has been done to date. OBJECTIVE The goal of this scoping review was to highlight the current state of NORC literature to inform future research and to offer a summarized description of NORCs and how they have and can support older adults to age-in-place. METHODS Using a published framework, a scoping review was conducted searching twelve databases (CINAHL, Ovid Medline, HealthSTAR, Embase, APA PsycInfo, AMED, Johanna Briggs Institute, REHABDATA, Sociofile, Education Source, ERIC, Urban Planning, and the Cochrane Library) from earliest date of coverage to July 2020. We included English peer and non-peer reviewed scholarly journal publications that described, critiqued, reflected on, or researched NORCs. Aging-in-place literature with little to no mention of NORCs were excluded, as were articles that recruited from NORCs but did not connect findings to the setting. A qualitative content analysis of the literature was conducted, guided by Greenfield et al.’s 2012 conceptual framework to examine the promise of NORC programs to promote aging-in-place. RESULTS From 762 publications, we included 61 articles. All publications were North American and most used a descriptive approach (49/61; 80.3%). Just over half provided a specific definition of a NORC (32/61; 52.5%); of those, almost half (14/32; 43.8%) used Hunt and Gunter-Hunt’s 1986 definition; yet there were discrepancies in the defined proportions of older adults that constitutes a NORC (e.g. 40%, 50%). Six articles (6/61; 9.8%) described processes for identifying NORCs. Thirty-seven articles (37/61; 60.7%) specifically described Articles about NORC SSPs, described both external partnerships with organizations for service delivery (30/61; 49.2%), and internal resources, including staff (19/61; 31.1%), volunteers (13/61; 21.3%), or neighbours (5/61; 8.2%). Identified key components of a NORC-SSP included activities fostering social relationships (24/61;39.3%) and access to resources and services (24/61;39.3%). Sustainability and funding of NORC-SSPs was described (25/61; 40.9%), particularly as challenges to success. Initial outcomes, including self-efficacy (6/61; 9.8%) and increased access to social and health supports (14/61; 22.9%) were cited; however, long-term outcomes were lacking. CONCLUSIONS This review synthesizes the NORC literature to date and demonstrates that NORCs with programming (NORC-SSPs) have potential as an alternative model of supporting aging-in-place. Longitudinal research exploring the impacts of both NORCs and NORC-SSPs on older adult health and well-being is recommended. Future research should also explore ways to improve the sustainability of NORC-SSPs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S340-S341
Author(s):  
Claire Pendergrast ◽  
Basia Belza ◽  
Ann Bostrom ◽  
Nicole Errett

Abstract Older adults are more susceptible to adverse health outcomes during and after a disaster compared with their younger counterparts. Developing community resilience, or strengthening communities to reduce the negative impacts of disasters, has the potential support older adults’ health and well-being. Community-based organizations (CBOs), such as senior centers and Villages, provide social services and programming that support aging in place and may support older adults’ resilience to disasters. This study examines CBO leadership perspectives on the role of CBOs in building disaster resilience for older adults aging in place, as well as perceived barriers and facilitators to incorporating disaster resilience activities into organizational programming. In-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of staff-members of CBOs serving older adults aging in place in King County, Washington. Participants included representatives from 14 organizations that varied in size, geographic setting, organizational structure, and ethnic, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds of organizational members. The sample included five government-run senior centers, seven non-profit senior centers, and two Villages. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. We used a combined inductive and deductive approach to code and thematically analyze the data. Results indicate that local context, leadership risk perception, collaborations, and existing services and programming influence CBOs’ willingness to engage in activities supporting disaster resilience for older adults aging in place. Findings suggest that CBOs supporting aging in place may support disaster resilience for older adults by serving as a trusted source of disaster preparedness information and tailoring disaster-related messages for an older adult audience.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S583-S583
Author(s):  
Philip A Rozario ◽  
Emily Greenfield ◽  
Nancy Kusmaul

Abstract Social networks provide opportunities for engagement with others and structure the receipt and provision of emotional, instrumental, informational and appraisal support. Indeed scholars in this field have documented the importance of having strong social networks in influencing older adults’ well-being and quality of life. The three papers in this symposium draw on the convoy model of social relations and ecological model to examine and better understand the micro, mezzo, macro contexts that shape and influence how older people engage with and benefit from their networks in three areas: low-income senior housing communities, urban areas specifically targeting older Latinos with dementia, and disaster preparedness in micropolitan counties in eastern Iowa. The first paper, a cross-sectional study focusing on social connections in senior housing communities, examines levels of social networks, engagement, support and loneliness and their relationship with well-being outcomes. The second paper, a community-based participatory research project, reports an intervention that seeks to train natural helpers in a predominantly Latino urban neighborhood to identify and refer older Latinos with dementia to bilingual assessment services. The third paper, synthesizing findings from interventions targeting network building at the individual and state levels as well as a community-based network analysis, presents ways to strengthen networks at the mezzo and macro levels as well as environmental contexts that enable better disaster preparedness for community-based older adults. These papers will consider practice, policy and research implications in strengthening social networks and engagement to optimize older adults’ well-being in various settings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 965-965
Author(s):  
Thomas Buckley

Abstract Psychological sense of community (PSOC) is an important construct for health and well-being outcomes for older adults. Drawing on the Ecological Theory of Aging and the Age-Friendly Cities (AFC) framework, this scoping review explored how PSOC has been used in research with community dwelling older adults. I followed Arksey and O’Malley's (2005) scoping review guidelines. Initial database searches yielded 860 articles. I included 33 in the final sample. I grouped articles based on study populations and conceptualization and operationalization of PSOC. I used thematic analysis to explore topic areas and main findings. The AFC framework guided development of themes and others emerged during analysis. Results show most studies used Asian or White samples and focused on geographic community or neighborhoods. Among the several measures of PSOC, the Brief Sense of Community Scale performed best with older adults. Topical research areas in the thematic analysis were built (1) built environment and neighborhoods, (2) social participation and connection, (3) civic participation, (4) PSOC as a protective factor, (5) health and well-being, (6) relocation, and (7) scale development. PSOC was a consistent predictor of health and well-being and served as a mediator to link neighborhood or environmental characteristics with health and well-being. Future research needs to examine PSOC in geographically and culturally diverse samples and conduct further psychometric testing of PSOC scales with older adults. PSOC is conceptually related to the AFC framework and serves as a mechanism that links AFC features and well-being outcomes. These results can inform practice and refine theory.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S37-S37
Author(s):  
Heejung Jang ◽  
Fengyan Tang

Abstract Issues of health and well-being have received considerable attention as a way to help grandparent caregivers. There is growing evidence that grandparenting is beneficial for grandparent caregivers’ health, yet acting as grandparent caregiver also is detrimental to health and social relations when a grandparent provides an extensive level of care to grandchildren. The extent to which grandparent caregiving benefits or harms of the health of a grandparent is still unknown; mortality specifically has not been systematically studied. Moreover, although altruistic behaviors towards others have been shown to have beneficial effects on caregivers’ health in general, there is little information regarding social relations of grandparent caregivers and their impact on mortality. This study aims to investigate the roles of different aspects of social relations among community-dwelling older adults, examining whether aspects of social relations, including social networks, received functional support aid, and perceived support quality, mediate the association between grandparent caregiving and mortality. The data were drawn from the 2008 and 2014 Health and Retirement Study (N=1,196). Results of survival analyses indicate that custodial and co-parenting grandparents were significantly associated with all-cause mortality over a 6-year period; however, the associations were marginally significant after health statuses were added into the model. Specifically, family-focused network groups were significantly associated with mortality. Received functional support and perceived positive support mediated the association between custodial grandparents and mortality. This study suggests that community-based support may be beneficial to older grandparents and perceived positive relationship quality could matter for older adults’ well-being.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 816-816
Author(s):  
Huiying Liu ◽  
Vivian Lou

Abstract Previous researches have examined the influences of satisfaction with social relations on affective well-being on a long time-frame among older adults. Using the Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) method, we examined within-person changes in social contact satisfaction in relation to momentary affect on short time-scales in 78 community-dwelling older Chinese. Each participant provided up to 7 EMA surveys per day during a one-week period and reported his/her satisfaction, positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Multilevel modelling was used for testing the within-person concurrent and time-lagged relations of social interactions and affect. Higher satisfaction was concurrently associated with more PA and less NA. The satisfaction of prior contact was predictive of greater low-arousal PA during the next contact. Prior NA was predictive of lower satisfaction at the next contact. Such dynamic interplays of social and affective experiences should be considered to support the maintenance of affective well-beings in older Chinese.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 620-620
Author(s):  
Bonnie Albright

Abstract As aging in place increases in popularity, it is important to understand potential negative outcomes related to the trend. For this presentation, the conceptual-theoretical-empirical (C-T-E) scoping review technique was used to organize research on in-home falls of community-dwelling older adults. Research and theory were included from the fields of social gerontology, disability, policy, social justice, medicine, rehabilitation, and housing. While research from these multiple fields overlaps, an overarching conceptual framework for organizing this literature was found to categorize the theories into three main conceptual areas. The three conceptual areas are: intrinsic (related to the person only), extrinsic (related to external factors only), and interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic (related to the interaction between the person and external factors). This conceptual framework shares similarities with work by others in use of the terms intrinsic and extrinsic, and it draws on the larger influence of Bronfenbrenner's socio-ecological model. However, this review extends previous work by providing a framework for organizing the contributions to falls research across multiple disciplines.


2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 854-873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Lander McCarthy ◽  
Lynne A. Hall ◽  
Timothy N. Crawford ◽  
Jennifer Connelly

This randomized controlled pilot study evaluated the effects of the Psychoeducational Approach to Transcendence and Health (PATH) Program, an 8-week intervention hypothesized to increase self-transcendence and improve well-being in community-dwelling women aged 60 years and older ( N = 20). The PATH combined mindfulness exercises, group processes, creative activities, and at-home practice using community engaged research methods. Findings provided some support for the effectiveness of PATH. Although there was no significant Group × Time interaction, self-transcendence, psychological well-being, and life satisfaction differed significantly pre- and postintervention in the wait-listed control group, which received a revised version of the program. Further study is needed with a larger sample to determine the effectiveness of PATH. Potentially, PATH may be a convenient and affordable activity to support personal development and improve well-being among older adults at senior centers, retirement communities, nursing homes, church groups, and other places where older adults gather.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
XinQi Dong ◽  
E-Shien Chang ◽  
Esther Wong ◽  
Melissa Simon

This qualitative study examines US Chinese older adults’ views on the perceived effectiveness, challenges, and cultural adaptations of elder abuse interventions to psychological distress in the Chinese community in Chicago. A community-based participatory research approach was implemented to partner with the Chinese community. A total of 37 community-dwelling Chinese older adults (age 60+) participated in focus group discussions. Data analysis was based on grounded theory framework. Our findings suggest that older adults perceived social support, empowerment, and community-based interventions design as most effective to promote psychological well-being of victims. The perceived preferences were similar between elder abuse victims and non-victims. Strategies to culturally adapt evidence-based interventions were proposed with respect to nurturing filial piety values, familial integrations, and increased independence. Research and educational outreach initiatives were also discussed. This study has wide policy and practice implications for designing and deploying interventions to reduce psychological distress with respect to elder abuse outcome. Cultural relevancy of health interventions is important in the context of the Chinese communities. Collective federal, state, and community efforts are needed to support the culturally appropriate design and implementation of interventions suitable for the needs of the Chinese older adults.


2021 ◽  
pp. 155982762110012
Author(s):  
Fei-Chi Yang ◽  
Aishwarya B. Desai ◽  
Pelareh Esfahani ◽  
Tatiana V. Sokolovskaya ◽  
Doreen J. Bartlett

Background. Tai Chi is a form of exercise that is accessible to people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, making it a potentially valuable activity for health promotion of older adults. Purpose. The objective of this scoping review was to summarize the current knowledge about the effectiveness of Tai Chi for older adults across a range of general health outcomes from published, peer reviewed, unique meta-analyses. Methods. Meta-analyses were retrieved from Medline, Embase, AMED, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, PsychINFO, Web of Science, PubMed Health, and the Cochrane Library from database inception to late August 2019. Multistage deduplication and screening processes identified eligible full-length meta-analyses. Two people independently appraised 27 meta-analyses based on the GRADE system and organized results into 3 appendices subsequently collated into heterogeneous, statistically significant, and statistically insignificant tables. Results. “High” and “moderate” quality evidence extracted from these meta-analyses demonstrated that practicing Tai Chi can significantly improve balance, cardiorespiratory fitness, cognition, mobility, proprioception, sleep, and strength; reduce the incidence of falls and nonfatal stroke; and decrease stroke risk factors. Conclusions. Health care providers can now recommend Tai Chi with high level of certainty for health promotion of older adults across a range of general health outcomes for improvement of overall well-being.


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