Exploration and Assessment of the NORC Transformation Process

Bennett, Paul H.

doi:10.1080/02763893.2010.522436

Cited by 6 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…At a meso level, a few studies have emphasized the importance of the involvement of the property owner, either a public housing corporation as in the New York example [ 33 ], or a private landlord. At a micro level, a number of papers have described the process and challenges of ongoing engagement older adults within communities [ 38 , 40 , 53 , 54 ] but typically fail to describe the initial steps of engaging residents. As far as we are aware, this is the first paper that provides a description of the multiple steps to site selection and engagement at the macro, meso and micro levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification and engagement of naturally occurring retirement communities to support healthy aging in Canada: A set of methods for replication

et al. 2022

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Background Naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs), unplanned communities with a high proportion of older adult residents, offer a model to support older adults to age well in place. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive description of the methods used to identify and engage NORCs appropriate for the development of supportive service programming in Canada. Methods Three steps were used to identify and select NORCs in which to develop supportive service programming including: 1) identification of potential NORCs using Canadian Census Dissemination Areas, the Ontario Marginalization Index and Google Maps, 2) engagement of property owner/manager to determine the availability of common space for communal programming and willingness of the owner to support programming and, 3) engagement of older adult residents within the NORC to co-design programming. Results Four cities in the south-east, south-central, and south-west of Ontario, Canada were identified to develop NORCs with supportive service programming. Using the methods described, six NORCs were identified, landlords and older adult residents were engaged, and programs initiated between April 2018 and March 2019. The sites included two private high-rise apartments, a city-owned low-rise subsidized apartment complex, two multi-building private high-rise complexes and a mobile home community. An average of 35 (min 20, max 78) older adult members were engaged in an average of 20.5 unique activity sessions at each site per month. On average, social (54%) and physical activities (30%) were more common than nutritional (10%) and knowledge-sharing (8%). Conclusions The increased prevalence of unplanned, geographically-bound NORCs creates an opportunity for governments, social and health service providers and policy makers to support healthy aging in their communities. Our experience with the creation of six new NORCs with supportive service programming provides a tested set of methods that can be applied in other communities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification and engagement of naturally occurring retirement communities to support healthy aging in Canada: A set of methods for replication

et al. 2022

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“…Anetzberger [52] described a Cleveland, Ohio, NORC collectively mobilizing to secure a federal grant, whereas in the article by Altman [37] about a New York, New York, NORC-SSP, the author describes the NORC's connection to the UJA Federation of New York, a local agency network that has played a critical role in the development of NORC programs in New York State [36]. Similar connections to local organizations were presented for other NORCs in Georgia [37,53], New York State [21,39,54,55,56], and California [31].…”

Section: Methods Used To Identify Norcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Authors of 20% (13/64) of the articles cited the 1986 definition proposed by Hunt and Gunter-Hunt [3]. Some authors (12/64, 19%) went further to define NORCs by including the percentage or proportion of the community and the age of its residents [17,21,24,29,[31][32][33][36][37][38][39][40]. The range of inclusion criteria cited in the literature is demonstrated in Table 2.…”

Section: Definition Of Norcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies in which the citations were found Citation Percentage and age [17,21,29] Hunt and Gunter-Hunt [3] 50% are older adults [37] New York State definition [41] 40%-50% of the population is aged >60 years [24,33] Hunt [42] 50% of the residents aged >65 years [31,37,40] Hunt and Ross [43] 50% of the residents should be aged >60 years [38] Lanspery [44] 50% of the residents are aged ≥60 years [39] Hunt [30] ≥50% of the population is aged at least 50 years A subset of articles focused specifically on NORC-SSPs: authors cited definitions from the study by Vladeck [45] that focus on bringing partnerships together to deliver services to concentrated areas of older adults [21,26,31,46]. Although most of the articles written about NORCs were indeed describing a geographical area inhabited by a large proportion of older adults, some authors referred to NORCs as communities with purposeful programs, services, and activities to assist the older adult residents but did not differentiate these as NORC-SSPs or NORC programs.…”

Section: Table 2 Summary Of Naturally Occurring Retirement Community ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…NORC-program members were described as actively engaged in 25% (16/64) of the articles. In some articles, empowerment and engagement was described as members taking on volunteer roles within the program [31,36,39]. Elbert and Neufeld [50] described a method of community building in which groups of neighbors developed "Resident Councils."…”

Section: Civic Engagement and Empowerment Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities: Scoping Review

Parniak¹,

DePaul²,

Frymire³

et al. 2022

JMIR Aging

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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 in 1986 as buildings or areas not specifically designed for, but which attract, older adults and associated NORC supportive service programs (NORC-SSPs) have been described as potential resources to support aging in place. Though the body of literature on NORCs has been growing since the 1980s, no synthesis of this work has been conducted to date. Objective The goal of this scoping review is to highlight the current state of NORC literature to inform future research and offer a summarized description of NORCs and how they have supported, and can support, older adults to age in place. Methods Using a published framework, a scoping review was conducted by searching 13 databases from earliest date of coverage to January 2022. 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 was excluded, as were studies that recruited participants from NORCs but did not connect findings to the setting. A qualitative content analysis of the literature was conducted, guided by a conceptual framework, to examine the promise of NORC programs to promote aging in place. Results From 787 publications, we included 64 (8.1%) articles. All publications were North American, and nearly half used a descriptive research approach (31/64, 48%). A little more than half provided a specific definition of a NORC (33/64, 52%); of these, 13 (39%) used the 1986 definition; yet, there were discrepancies in the defined proportions of older adults that constitute a NORC (eg, 40% or 50%). Of the 64 articles, 6 (9%) described processes for identifying NORCs and 39 (61%) specifically described NORC-SSPs and included both external partnerships with organizations for service delivery (33/39, 85%) and internal resources such as staff, volunteers, or neighbors. Identified key components of a NORC-SSP included activities fostering social relationships (25/64, 39%) and access to resources and services (26/64, 41%). Sustainability and funding of NORC-SSPs were described (27/64, 42%), particularly as challenges to success. Initial outcomes, including self-efficacy (6/64, 9%) and increased access to social and health supports (14/64, 22%) were cited; however, long-term outcomes were lacking. Conclusions This review synthesizes the NORC literature to date and demonstrates that 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.

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The Impact of a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Supportive Services Program on Older Adult Participants’ Social Networks: Semistructured Interview Study

Mills¹,

Parniak²,

Hand³

et al. 2022

JMIR Aging

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Background Most older adults want to age in place, in their homes and communities. However, this can be challenging for many, frequently owing to lack of supports that allow for aging in place. Naturally occurring retirement community supportive services programs (NORC-SSPs) offer an approach to help older adults age in place. Although qualitative studies have examined the experiences of NORC-SSP participants, little is known about how participation in NORC-SSP programming affects participants’ social networks. Objective This study aimed to explore the experiences of 13 NORC-SSP residents who participated in Oasis Senior Supportive Living (Oasis) and how participating in NORC-SSP programming, specifically based on the Oasis model, influenced their social networks. Methods Participants were recruited, using convenience sampling, from 4 naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) in Ontario, Canada. All participants (13/13, 100%) had participated in Oasis programming. Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with participants. Social network theory informed the interview guide and thematic analysis. Results In total, 13 participants (n=12, 92% women and n=1, 8% men) were interviewed. These participants were from 4 different NORCs where Oasis had been implemented, comprising 2 midrise apartment buildings, 1 low-rise apartment building, and 1 mobile home community. Overall, 3 main themes were identified from the interviews with Oasis participants: expansion and deepening of social networks, Oasis activities (something to do, someone to do it with), and self-reported impact of Oasis on mental health and well-being (feeling and coping with life better). Participants noted that Oasis provided them with opportunities to meet new people and broaden their social networks, both within and outside their NORCs. They also indicated that Oasis provided them with meaningful ways to spend their time, including opportunities to socialize and try new activities. Participants stated that participating in Oasis helped to alleviate loneliness and improved their quality of life. They noted that Oasis provided them with a reason to get up in the morning. However, the experiences described by participants may not be reflective of all Oasis members. Those who had positive experiences may have been more likely to agree to be interviewed. Conclusions On the basis of the participants’ interviews, Oasis is an effective aging-in-place model that has been successfully implemented in low-rise apartment buildings, midrise apartment buildings, and mobile home communities. Participating in Oasis allowed participants to expand their social networks and improve their mental health and well-being. Therefore, NORCs may offer an ideal opportunity to build strong communities that provide deep, meaningful social connections that expand social networks. NORC-SSPs, such as Oasis, can support healthy aging and allow older adults to age in place.

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Exploration and Assessment of the NORC Transformation Process

Cited by 6 publications

References 6 publications

Identification and engagement of naturally occurring retirement communities to support healthy aging in Canada: A set of methods for replication

Identification and engagement of naturally occurring retirement communities to support healthy aging in Canada: A set of methods for replication

Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities: Scoping Review

The Impact of a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Supportive Services Program on Older Adult Participants’ Social Networks: Semistructured Interview Study

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