Cohabitants’ perspective on housing adaptations: a piece of the puzzle

Abstract

As part of the Swedish state-funded healthcare system, housing adaptations are used to promote safe and independent living for disabled people in ordinary housing, through the elimination of physical environmental barriers in the home. The aim of this study was to describe the cohabitants´ expectations and experiences of how a housing adaptation, intended for the partner, would impact on their everyday life. In-depth interviews were conducted with cohabitants of nine people applying for a housing adaptation, firstly at the time of the application and then again three months after the housing adaptation was installed. A longitudinal analysis was performed including analysis procedures from Grounded Theory. The findings revealed the expectations and experiences in four categories: Partners´ activities and independence; Cohabitants´ everyday activities and caregiving; Couples´ shared recreational/leisure activities and Housing decisions, with a core category putting the intervention into perspective: Housing adaptations -A piece of the puzzle. With the cohabitants' perspective new insights on housing adaptations emerged, which are important to consider when planning and carrying out successful housing adaptations.

Participation in Everyday Life Before and After a Housing Adaptation

“…Among our participants in this study the expectations of the HA were not always met, and some participants had high expectations of what the outcome of the HA would be. This may be due to an insufficient and untimely HA-for example, by leaving parts of the home unadapted in spite of the expressed need as described in other studies (Granbom, Taei, & Ekstam, 2017;Petersson et al, 2009). This gap between the initial need for an extensive HA and the one they received continuously caused problems in the participants' everyday life.…”

“…This is of significant interest for occupational therapy services in Swedish municipalities, since they have an important role to play in helping their clients to perform and engage in activities. The role of a partner, cohabitant, or significant other has been studied before, showing that the HA can have positive effects also on caregivers everyday life, mainly due to their role as care providers (Granbom et al, 2017).…”

Accessible independent housing for people with disabilities: A scoping review of promising practices, policies and interventions

“…Among the few studies (7/60) describing the racial or ethnic composition of their samples, six included a majority of white participants [ 50 , 72 , 77 , 81 , 86 , 90 ] and one had a mixed ethnic representation [ 82 ]. Ages of the samples ranged considerably with 17 focusing on elderly/older adults [ 46 , 53 , 66 , 68 – 70 , 73 , 74 , 76 , 78 , 80 , 81 , 83 , 87 , 91 – 93 ], 12 examined adults [ 8 , 43 , 49 , 65 , 71 , 72 , 75 , 79 , 82 , 86 , 88 , 94 ], six included a wide age range [ 11 , 51 , 77 , 85 , 89 , 95 ], while three focused specifically on children/youth and their caregivers [ 67 , 84 , 96 ]. Of the studies (26/60) reporting on housing location, 11 focused on accessible housing in urban / suburban areas [ 53 , 69 , 74 , 75 , 77 , 86 , ...…”

“…Less than half of the studies (25/60) described housing types, which included single-family homes, apartments and multi-family housing. Fourteen studies involved mixed representation of housing status [ 43 , 46 , 68 , 72 , 73 , 75 , 77 , 83 , 85 , 89 , 95 , 96 , 100 , 101 ]. In six studies most participants owned their own home [ 8 , 69 , 72 , 76 , 84 , 87 ] and in three studies the majority rented [ 23 , 65 , 66 ].…”

Relocating or ageing in place? A story of housing modifications in rural NZ

“…For James, the level of expectation for the positive effects of the modifications were not always realised over the longer term. This may be the result of insufficient and/or untimely housing modifications, for example by neglecting to modify other parts of the home despite the participant having expressly requested such need in the initial stages of the intervention, as highlighted in other recent studies (Granbom, Taei, & Ekstam, 2017).…”